Flock cameras: Liberty Hill weighs future with automated license plate readers

LIBERTY HILL, Texas - There wasn't an empty seat inside the Liberty Hill Council chambers and the turnout was due in great part to an item on the city council's agenda: Flock cameras.

The city is one of the latest in Texas to weigh its relationship with the automated license plate readers.

 With their contract with Flock set to expire in October, city leaders say they wanted to take Wednesday as a chance to address community concerns. 

Flock camera debate in Liberty Hill

What they're saying:

"I felt as a mayor we wanted to get in front of it, so I put it on the agenda with the city manager, made sure our police chief was ready to answer some of the questions we were seeing, and made sure the Flock representative was going to be here," said Liberty Hill Mayor, Crystal Mancilla.

Currently the city uses seven of the automated license plate readers, something that was first approved by city council in 2024. But some claim it was a decision that the community was left out of.

"It happened behind closed doors," said Kristin, who says she's been trying to spread the word to other Liberty Hill residents of the potential dangers of Flock. "So, the conversations I'm having with people now, we didn't know, they didn't know. So now that they do know, hopefully people will show up and speak out about it."

What happened at Liberty Hill City Council meeting?

Dig deeper:

The meeting allowed for public comment, in which different residents came forward to voice their opposition to the city's use of the cameras, citing privacy concerns and questions over outside data access.

The meeting then moved over to a presentation on how the cameras are utilized by law enforcement. 

Liberty Hill Police Chief, Jeff Ringstaff, reaffirmed that the cameras are used by official law enforcement only. He went on to say department approved training is required to operate the system , and that there is administrative oversight for system management. 

Ringstaff confirmed that the city's license plate reader data is shared with other law enforcement agencies, but LHPD controls which verified agencies have access. 

The other side:

Following his presentation was Ian Leslie, a Flock representative. Leslie began by reinforcing the notion that Flock cameras are an invaluable tool for law enforcement and claimed that more than 2,800 crimes are solved per day using Flock.

"Where seconds matter, where minutes matter, where hours matter, you want your agency to have access to efficiently, and effectively, and responsibly respond to crime," said Leslie.

When a city council member asked him about the potential for officers to abuse the system, Leslie said rail guards are in place.

"Every tool can be abused, whether that's an ALPR, whether that's a taser, whether that's a firearm, whether that's a cell phone. We have worked intentionally hard to make sure the powerful tool that we have put in people's hands has the mechanisms to catch any abuse that is happening."

Local perspective:

But Leslie's responses weren't enough for some, as members of the crowd began holding up anti-Flock signs during his presentation.

"You can't trade personal liberty for safety," you just have to do better," said Amanda, a Liberty Hill resident. "It's been very clear that people are not happy about these decisions, so I'd like for them to repeal it and remove the Flock cameras."

What's next:

Chief Ringstaff said if no intervention is made before October, the city's contract with Flock would automatically renew. 

The City Council said the issue could be revisited at the next meeting in two weeks.