Judge Lina Hidalgo calls for special meeting to discuss Flock cameras in Harris County
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is calling for a special meeting of the Harris County Commissioners Court to discuss Flock cameras and address privacy and data-access concerns.
In a Substack article posted by Hidalgo on Saturday, the county judge explained that on May 28, the Commissioners Court "quietly passed a one-year extension of the Flock contract through June 2027," adding that the extension would cost $2 million. Hidalgo said that she abstained from the vote on the contract extension, which passed 4-0.
According to Hidalgo, the Commissioners Court said it would approve the contract extension and later add oversight clauses relating to privacy concerns. In her post, Hidalgo said that the contract still has not been amended to address these concerns.
Throughout her post, Hidalgo cited several reported misuses of Flock cameras throughout the Harris County area, including a former Katy police officer who allegedly used Flock cameras to track his ex-wife and a Pasadena police officer being investigated for misuse.
Hidalgo then stated that she is calling for a special meeting of the Commissioners Court to address privacy concerns. Hidalgo said she believes the meeting should cover a timeline of Harris County's engagement with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), the extent to which ALPR data can be accessed, which agencies have access to ALPR data, and how many ALPRs are in Harris County, among other concerns.
"The information the community is requesting is appropriate. For example, we should know what kind of Flock camera information becomes accessible to the public and which agencies have access to the data," Hidalgo stated in her Substack article. "Most importantly, the conversation around this topic must be public and include residents, the companies, law enforcement, and elected Harris County leaders."
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