Robert Salinas/HPM
A Flock camera situated just over the Texas/Oklahoma border.
Two Houston-area communities suspended their use of Flock Safety cameras this week after residents expressed worries about how the company’s surveillance systems might violate privacy.
On Tuesday, the city council of Manvel, located south of Houston in Brazoria County, voted unanimously to cancel its contract with Flock Safety, a technology surveillance company. That same day, the mayor of Willis, located north of Houston in Montgomery County, announced the city was pausing its use of Flock cameras pending a city council meeting. The decisions by both municipalities come as Flock faces growing national scrutiny over its nationwide camera network.
During the Manvel City Council Meeting on Tuesday, mayor Dan Davis said the law enforcement benefit of Flock cameras cannot outweigh elected officials’ responsibility to ensure residents’ right to privacy.
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“This is not a request to reduce our committee to public safety; it’s a request to make a different policy and budget choice about this particular vendor [Flock Safety] and this specific system,” Davis said. “We’re seeing jurisdictions all across America do this. … This company is so much more than just license plate readers, and they have no place in the City of Manvel.”
The Manvel City Council ultimately voted to give Flock 30 days’ notice that it would be ending its contract and would immediately cover the cameras installed around the city to prevent further recording.
RELATED: Some Houston-area residents have growing concerns with the expansion of Flock cameras
Davis voiced several concerns with Flock, including the company’s use of collected anonymized data to further train its AI systems and the ability for other agencies to access Manvel’s Flock system.
“My concern is what happens when a camera, a simple piece of technology, becomes a part of a much larger privately operated surveillance and data network … when they begin to profit and have financial interest in collecting, connecting, analyzing and expanding the use of that information, that’s where the issue is,” Davis said.
Before the Manvel City Council voted to end its contract with Flock, Manvel police Chief Keith Traylor said the cameras often provided valuable information, but acknowledged that information should not interfere with residents’ right to privacy.
“When a violent crime occurs, that information can be critical, but as technology improves, so does responsibility,” Traylor said. “I also recognize that any discussion involving cameras and license plate recognition raises legitimate questions about privacy. Those concerns need to be addressed.”
Traylor said his department had policies meant to address those concerns, including limiting access to the city’s Flock system and prohibiting any improper use.
“Public safety and privacy do not have to be competing objectives; we can have both,” he said. “Our goal is simple: give our officers the tools to identify and locate the people who commit crimes in our community while maintaining the trust and privacy of the people we serve.”
Just this week, in nearby Fort Bend County, the local sheriff’s office credited Flock cameras with assisting in their investigation that resulted in the arrest of three men allegedly connected to a string of robberies.
On the same day Manvel voted to end its contract, Willis Mayor William Brown announced via social media that the city’s Flock camera system had “been discontinued and shut off until further notice.”
“The matter will be brought before the Willis City Council for discussion and consideration to determine how the City will move forward,” Brown said on social media. “Public safety remains one of our highest priorities, but we must also make sure the tools and technology used within our city are appropriately reviewed and that the concerns of our residents are heard.”
Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding either city’s decision, but a Flock representative was virtually present at Manvel’s meeting and pushed back on several of Davis’ concerns.
Trevor Chandler, the senior director of public affairs for Flock, said during the meeting that Flock does use anonymized data to improve their surveillance equipment, but that municipalities can choose which other agencies have access to the city’s data and equipment.
“The only people with access to Manvel’s data are those who you have agreed, who your agencies have agreed, to give access to,” Trevor Chandler, the senior director of public affairs for Flock, said. “It’s not a part of the nationwide network unless you opt into the nationwide sharing feature, which you [Manvel] have not.”