Conroe City Council has slammed the brakes on any fresh look at the city’s network of Flock Safety license plate cameras, shelving ideas for both a citizen study group and a public vote. The move follows weeks of tense public comment and a grassroots petition pushing for clarity on what the cameras capture and who gets to see it. Backers of the system insist it helps solve crimes; critics say the rollout has been murky and potentially intrusive.
Council Shelves Review, Keeps Cameras In Place
The council voted unanimously to table two proposals, one to create a citizens advisory committee and another to study putting the Flock program on the ballot, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. Newly elected Council Member Kristin Hoisington labeled the push to remove cameras an “anti-police campaign,” and several members said they did not want to risk residents who were speaking out becoming targets of harassment. With those votes, the city’s Flock network stays in place while the public fight over it rolls on.
Police Say The System Is For Investigations, Not Face Tracking
Conroe Police Chief Jon Buckholtz told council in June that the cameras capture license plate numbers along with vehicle details such as make, model and color, plus the date, time and location of each detection, and that the system does not use facial recognition, according to the Conroe News. Buckholtz said officers pull data from the cloud-based system only for legitimate investigations and that the department keeps those records for roughly 30 days. Local reporting also quoted the chief saying the department’s Crime Reduction Unit has relied on Flock alerts in dozens of investigations, a point supporters routinely cite when defending the program.
Records Fight And Petition Drive
The political temperature rose after Conroe resident James Fletes filed a nine-page open records request seeking contracts, emails and data-use policies tied to the cameras, a move local outlets reported led the city to withhold certain documents. Fletes then launched a Change.org petition calling on officials to cancel the Flock contract; the petition has attracted more than 1,300 supporters on the platform. The city sent portions of the request to the Texas Attorney General, which ordered Conroe to release basic information while allowing some sensitive investigative material to remain redacted, according to ABC13.
Legal And Oversight Questions Remain
The Flock program goes back to a 2023 council resolution that approved a contract with the company and permitted automated license plate readers on city and TxDOT rights of way, according to the city’s meeting documents. That contract, combined with the Attorney General’s guidance on what has to be released under public records law, has helped fuel council members’ arguments that their options are limited by legal and contractual boundaries. Transparency advocates counter that the AG ruling narrows what the city can keep from public view but does not change the underlying contract or the council’s decision to keep the cameras running; the resolution remains available in the city’s public records portal.
What Comes Next
Opponents say they plan to keep pressing for oversight at upcoming council meetings and through continued public pressure. Some council members had previously asked the interim city attorney to examine whether the issue could go to voters. The council’s agenda indicated the body could have considered a ballot option at its July 23 meeting at Conroe City Hall, 300 W. Davis St., but Thursday’s vote removed the immediate route to that possibility, according to Community Impact. With the Attorney General now requiring release of certain records, advocates say they will be watching closely to see what the city turns over and whether those documents shift the political math at future meetings.
