Kyle voters could decide future of Flock cameras
Kyle voters could decide future of Flock cameras
The Kyle City Council voted 6-1 against terminating its $420,000 annual contracts for 47 Flock surveillance cameras and two drones. Council member Claudia Zapata cited privacy risks, noting outside police agencies ran over 1.5 million searches on Kyle's data in under three months.
KYLE, Texas - Last week, the Kyle City Council rejected a motion that would have ended its contract with Flock cameras. But now, the decision could be in voters’ hands.
As privacy and data concerns continue to grow around Flock cameras, we’ve seen a long list of Central Texas cities recently cut ties with the company. Now, one Kyle City Councilwoman is trying to do the same.
Big picture view:
Liberty Hill and Bastrop are the latest to do so. And with the pushback against the surveillance company continuing, they might not be the last.
Claudia Zapata is the lone council member who voted in support of ending the city of Kyle’s relationship with Flock. She brought forward her privacy concerns at last week’s City Council meeting.
What they're saying:
According to Zapata, the city has three contracts with Flock from 2023, 2024 and 2025. That provides 47 cameras and two drones at a cost of over $420,000 a year.
Zapata claims at least two of those contracts can be terminated by not funding them in the next city budget.
"I get that some places have misused it, but for a place that has not misused Flock, why so many people are against it?"
The other side:
Not everyone was on board with Zapata. Other City Council members defended the technology, while Katy police Chief Jeff Barnett provided examples of how the cameras had helped Kyle police, especially in the case of a 5-month-old left in a car.
"In that split second of time, a person came along and stole that infant in that backseat. The license plate readers played a significant role in us quickly locating that vehicle."
Barnett says rail guards are in place to prevent officers from abusing the system, but Zapata’s concern is how outside agencies are using the city’s data.
"From Jan. 1 to March 19, our own internal logs show that over 3,000 agencies across 40 states entered our system and ran searches."
"And out of those 1.5 million, only 2,888 were made by KPD."
But Zapata’s resolution to cancel the city’s contract would be shot down in a 6-1 vote. But the role of Flock may now lie in voters’ hands.
Dig deeper:
The council agreed unanimously to consider a nonbinding referendum on next year’s ballot, meaning it could be up to voters to weigh the future of Flock cameras.
What they decide in May could decide what sort of future Flock has along Kyle streets.
A nonbinding referendum is a public vote that would be asking voters their opinion on Flock cameras. Even if a majority of Kyle voters say they don’t approve of Flock in May, it doesn’t mean that the city would be forced to take any action.
What's next:
Tuesday will be the last City Council meeting before they possibly approve the budget.
Councilwoman Zapata is encouraging everyone to voice their opinions that night before a decision is made.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 7's Marco Bitonel.