Hays County ends all contracts with Flock Safety

Hays County votes to end Flock Safety contracts

Hays County officials have voted to end their contract with Flock Safety. The move is drawing criticism from law enforcement unions, who say the license plate readers are some of the most effective tools they have in catching criminals. FOX 7 Austin's Marco Bitonel reports.

HAYS COUNTY, Texas - The Hays County Commissioners Court has voted to end all contracts with Flock Safety.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to end the contracts. The decision comes after growing concerns that data collected from the company was being misused and shared with agencies such as ICE to track down immigrants.

However, others say that the vote means law enforcement in Hays County is losing a valuable tool.

What they're saying:

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra shared this statement on the vote, saying:

"I’m proud to have led the effort for greater accountability in how surveillance is used in Hays County. In times like these, we must be vigilant about who has access to information about the people in our community. I support public safety technology however, never at the expense of privacy, transparency, or public trust.

I’ll take support from fellow officials, even at the eleventh hour what matters most is standing up for our community.

We’ll continue working toward solutions that protect both safety and civil liberties."

Becerra had put the action item to terminate the contracts on the Oct. 14 Commissioners Court agenda.

License plate readers in Hays County

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis says license plate readers would have helped police catch the suspect from yesterday's triple shooting, but they don't have them anymore. License plate readers are a tool Hays County commissioners continue to delay purchasing more of for the county. Residents have expressed privacy concerns. FOX 7 Austin's CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis has more.

Judge Becerra argues that the County’s problem is not with the Sheriff’s Office's use of the cameras, but rather the reputation of Flock.

"Just because this is one of the myriad of tools that we have said ‘We don't like the reputation this company has,’ doesn't make us anti-police," said Becerra.

Becerra says he has made it clear to the Hays County Sheriff’s Office that he is pro camera, but that any future license plate readers must be from a different company besides Flock.

The other side:

For law enforcement, the new vote means the loss of what some call an invaluable asset.

"This tool specifically has been shown to have a seventy percent reduction in crime," says Jennifer Szimanksi, the Deputy Executive Director at CLEAT, which represents over 28,000 officers across the state. 

Szimanski, a former officer in Austin Police Department’s Intel Division, stressed how crucial these cameras can be.

"The apprehension of suspects can be very timely and can be done in a quicker manner with this technology," she said.

Flock cameras have the ability to track cameras in real time, providing leads to law enforcement on suspects whereabouts.

"The technology itself is no different than an officer running a license plate in their patrol car. The difference is how quickly it does that and how many we can capture at once," said Szimanski.

The backstory:

Ending the program is a move Hays County Commissioners have been considering for a while.

The Hays County Sheriff's Office had been using six license plate reader cameras from Flock Safety and was intending to purchase four more. 

READ MORE: Hays County grapples with eliminating license plate readers

In February, the Commissioners Court approved the purchase using grant money. However, the order form was incomplete as it was missing a signature, so it went back to Commissioners Court to rubber stamp it again.

"Thank God there was a problem, and it had to come back to court," said Becerra.

Commissioners have been delaying the vote for months as Hays County residents voiced privacy concerns about the cameras.

"There are reports and lawsuits and different instances where the information has been leaked, the information has been misused, the information has been picked up by agencies outside of the jurisdiction. People in our community aren't happy, aren't comfortable with the idea that Big Brother is watching over them, says Becerra.