But when 13 Investigates started looking into the county's contract with Flock, we found that some of the officials who approved it say they still have questions about where the cameras are, who can access the data, and how the system is being used.
With growing privacy concerns about Flock cameras, which use automated technology to capture and store license plate information from any vehicle that passes by, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is calling for a special session.
READ MORE: Judge Lina Hidalgo calls for special meeting to discuss Flock cameras in Harris County
"We have not had a conversation about how to implement some sort of oversight on Flock cameras. We know we have them, but there's a lot of questions," Hidalgo said. "There's questions that I have that I haven't been able to get answered."
In 2023, all four Harris County commissioners and Hidalgo approved a $160,000 contract with Flock for what was described as a "pilot program for Precinct 2."
"I'm excited that this item provides us with a new crime-fighting tool," Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said during a June 6, 2023 commissioners meeting. "As one of the county's highest crime targets, it was strategically chosen as a pilot program that will provide 30 license plate readers and a gun detection system that will be placed to cover 3 square miles. The system will provide our law enforcement partners a great arsenal for solving major violent crimes."
Flock was discussed for only about three minutes before it was approved at that meeting in 2023. In hindsight, Hidalgo said she wishes she had looked at the program with more scrutiny.
"It seemed like this is something that's going to help reduce crime, so what's on my notes is like, 'this is shown to reduce crime, recommend approving, great,'" Hidalgo said during a sit-down interview with ABC13 on Thursday. "I'm not proud of the fact that that was my vote back then and that I didn't stop to have a more thorough conversation about the subject and at the same time, I know that it wasn't on purpose. It was - that's all we knew."
Hidalgo said there is some confusion around the spending related to Flock, which she also hopes to clarify.
13 Investigates found the original Flock contract was approved for $160,500 and was scheduled to run from June 2023 to June 2024.
But invoices obtained from the auditor's office show Harris County actually paid Flock $302,650 during that one-year timeframe.
That payment includes $160,500 from Flock's initial contract with Precinct 2, plus an additional $62,500 billed to Flock by the Harris County Sheriff's Office as part of a county-approved extension, and $77,200 billed to Flock by Precinct 3.
The cost to the County's Flock program is increasing.
In May, commissioners approved spending $868,975 more to extend Flock's contract until 2027. While the cost to Harris County is expanding, it represents the cameras and operating costs the county has paid for directly.
Hidalgo said most of the cameras across Harris County are owned and operated by other entities, like homeowners associations and utility districts.
Officers don't need warrants to access their data, and it's unclear who has authority over them.
"It's really hard even for those of us in government to understand what currently exists," Hidalgo said.
The open-source organization DeFlock estimates there are more than 140,000 Flock cameras in the country, with more than 2,300 in the Houston area.
"Right now, I can't answer the question for you: where are these cameras? What were the agreements ... who exactly can access the footage? Why were there precinct-by-precinct agreements? How much exactly were they?" Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo is calling for a special meeting with a public comment session to hopefully get answers to some of her questions.
"I have questions. Let's talk to the community about it in an open forum and go from there," Hidalgo said. "I don't have all the solutions. I don't think anybody has all the solutions on this. Folks around the country are grappling with how to do that, but my perspective is that in our county, just as a locality, we can work together to come up with something that works for us and so I make everybody happy, but it's some sort of middle ground."