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License-plate readers · Montgomery County

Montgomery County

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Two additions of 30 cameras each announced December 2025 (30 in The Woodlands funded by the Township, 30 elsewhere via a state grant); total not reported.
  1. Dec. 12, 2025 The Woodlands Township is funding 30 new Flock cameras in partnership with MCSO, and a state grant is adding 30 more elsewhere in Montgomery County. (KPRC Click2Houston, Dec. 12, 2025)
  2. May 2026 The Township board voted 6-0 to accept MCSO's Flock report; a Flock representative said data is kept 30 days, only MCSO has access, federal agencies have none, and searches tied to immigration and reproductive care are filtered. (Community Impact, May 29, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status of the state-grant-funded 30 cameras after the Aug. 27, 2026 funding order not found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Conroe Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
51
51-camera contract per Dallas Express; more than 50 per the city's Flock portal (FOX 26, Sept. 2026).
Contract
Flock Safety: $127,500 per year · approved by Conroe City Council (budget) Sept. 2026 · Kept in the FY2026-27 budget, adopted 4-2 (David Hairel and Shana Arthur opposed); no separate Flock vote. (Dallas Express, Sept. 13, 2026)
  1. July 23, 2026 Council unanimously tabled indefinitely two proposals to add public scrutiny to the Flock agreement; the contract was unchanged. (Ground News (aggregating ABC13, Montgomery County Police Reporter), July 25, 2026)
  2. Sept. 10, 2026 The city's Flock portal listed more than 50 readers and nearly 900,000 plates scanned in the prior month ahead of the budget vote. (FOX 26 Houston, Sept. 10, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Willis Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Sept. 2026 The mayor temporarily shut down the city's Flock system pending a council decision. (Axios Houston, Sept. 14, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2023 The Legislature unanimously passed a $1 increase to the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority fee on auto insurance policies, aimed at catalytic converter theft. The Texas Tribune estimated it raised about $81 million and found at least $30 million of it went to Flock cameras (at least 3,200 cameras) through grants; sponsors Sen. Carol Alvarado and Rep. Jeff Leach told the Tribune cameras were not discussed when the bill passed. (The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026)
  2. July 10, 2024 DPS sent Flock Safety a cease-and-desist letter saying the company lacked the private security license required under the Private Security Act. The complaint that started the inquiry was filed by a Baytown resident. (The Galveston County Daily News, Sept. 25, 2024; The Galveston County Daily News, Sept. 30, 2024)
  3. Oct. 2024 DPS licensed Flock, whose private plate readers served homeowners associations, businesses and homes. The Texan reported Flock kept operating those cameras while licensing was pending, and that a DPS report noted a 2021 finding of unlicensed alarm-installer work without indicating any penalty. (The Texan, Oct. 10, 2024)
  4. 2025 Two 2025 bills to regulate ALPR use did not advance: HB 961 (Rep. Brian Harrison; warrant or court order, violent-crime use only, destruction of unrelated data, published policies) and HB 2083 (Rep. John Bucy; 48-hour default destruction, no sharing with the federal government, private right of action). Both were referred to the House Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs committee and got no hearing, per Texas Policy Research. The same source says Texas has no ALPR-specific statutory framework. (Texas Legislature, date not shown; Texas Policy Research, date not shown)
  5. May 2025 404 Media reported in May 2025 that a Johnson County Sheriff's Office search of Flock's nationwide network covered more than 83,000 cameras in a case involving a woman who had a self-managed abortion. Sheriff Adam King said it was about her safety, and Flock said she was sought as a missing person. EFF later obtained Flock audit logs and court records (reported Oct. 7, 2025) showing a first search of 1,295 networks (17,684 cameras) and a second of 6,809 networks (83,345 cameras), both logged with the reason "had an abortion, search for female," and an affidavit describing a death investigation of a non-viable fetus. The district attorney's office told deputies she could not be charged. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, Oct. 7, 2025; The Record (Recorded Future News), Oct. 7, 2025)
  6. Aug. 27, 2026 Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras; spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said state agency funds "cannot be used for Flock cameras." Some outlets date the order Aug. 27 and others Aug. 28. Existing locally funded cameras are not covered. (Texas Public Radio (The Texas Tribune), Aug. 29, 2026; The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026; Dallas Express, Sept. 7, 2026; Good Good Good (The Texas Tribune), Sept. 1, 2026)
  7. Sept. 8, 2026 TxDOT stopped issuing permits for Flock and other plate readers on state roads at the governor's direction, including approved agreements not yet installed. Existing cameras, including more than 900 operated by DPS, were not affected. The Sept. 8 start date comes from a Schertz police presentation, not TxDOT. (The Texas Tribune, Sept. 17, 2026)
  8. Sept. 24, 2026 The Texas Tribune counted at least 900 Flock cameras shut off across at least 14 cities and counties since state funding ended. Dallas Express counted at least 23 local governments that ended, declined, suspended or reduced Flock use as of Sept. 6. (San Antonio Current (The Texas Tribune), Sept. 24, 2026; Dallas Express, Sept. 7, 2026)
  9. Oct. 5, 2026 The Texas Tribune reported agencies were charging large fees for Flock records or withholding them: North Richland Hills invoiced $2.3 million up front, Irving was reported charging $70,000, one agency quoted KPRC $121,000, and DPS stopped releasing search data and asked the Attorney General for a ruling. The Tribune counted 60 Texas agencies with Flock transparency portals, 16 of which publish search records. (The Texas Tribune, Oct. 5, 2026)
  10. Sept. 2026 A Lufkin police officer was sentenced to 5 years after pleading guilty to 100 felony counts of abuse of official information involving Flock searches, per the Texas Tribune. (Lufkin is in Angelina County, outside this assignment's county list.) (The Texas Tribune, Oct. 5, 2026)
  11. Oct. 9, 2026 Reps. Brian Harrison and Mitch Little said they plan to file bills to ban the devices in the session that begins in January 2027; Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman has asked state officials to put Flock regulation on the agenda. (The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026; FOX 26 Houston, Oct. 9, 2026)

State agencies

Texas Department of Public Safety

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
940
At least 940 DPS cameras installed as of Sept. 2, 2026, per a DPS email shared by a lawmaker (Texas Tribune). DPS told KEYE roughly 900; Rep. Brian Harrison cited over 1,000. DPS does not publish a total.
Contract
Flock Safety: $15,900,000 three-year total · from 2025 · approved by Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority 2025 · Contract between MVCPA and DPS for 1,183 proposed cameras, funded by the auto-insurance fee. (The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026; The Texas Tribune, Sept. 4, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $3,000,000 one-year · from Aug. 2026 · approved by Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority Aug. 2026 · Approved for 583 more cameras on seven toll roads; status after the Aug. 27 funding order not reported. (The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026; The Texas Tribune, Sept. 4, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $28,500,000 total (term not reported) · The Texas Tribune reports a $28.5 million DPS Flock contract without giving term or funding. A Tribune/Waco Bridge story cites a $26 million Flock contract approved in 2025 for state roads and Operation Lone Star; the relationship between the figures is unclear. (The Texas Tribune, Aug. 28, 2026; KSAT (The Texas Tribune / The Waco Bridge), Aug. 3, 2026)
Data sharing
Per Texas Tribune reporting (not a DPS policy page): 206 Texas agencies had signed data-sharing agreements by July 2026; in June 2026 about 615,000 searches came from 3,075 agencies, 2,679 of them out of state. On Sept. 3, 2026, DPS said only agencies with signed agreements may search.
  1. 2025 The Texas Tribune and KSAT reported DPS cameras on state roads support Operation Lone Star and were installed under TxDOT permits. (KSAT (The Texas Tribune / The Waco Bridge), Aug. 3, 2026)
  2. June 2026 Texas Tribune analysis: roughly 615,000 searches of the DPS network in June; 48% from outside Texas; Houston police ran about 13%; DPS's own officers just under 9%; 111 searches cited immigration-related reasons. (The Texas Tribune, Sept. 4, 2026)
  3. Sept. 3, 2026 DPS paused new installations after the governor's funding order while keeping existing cameras in use, and limited all searches to agencies with signed agreements. (KEYE CBS Austin, Sept. 4, 2026; The Texas Tribune, Sept. 4, 2026)
  4. Oct. 2026 DPS stopped releasing search logs it had earlier given the Tribune and asked the Attorney General to let it withhold them; it has also challenged requests for camera locations. (The Texas Tribune, Oct. 5, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Contract amounts differ across outlets ($15.9M MVCPA contract, $28.5M separate contract, $26M 'Lone Star' contract); DPS contract documents not pulled.
  • DPS did not say how recurring Flock costs will be paid without state money.
  • Some event dates here are inferred from weekday references (such as “Tuesday”) in news reports; confirm from meeting records.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.