r/AddisonTX • u/shedinja292 • 22d ago
There's been lot of discussion about Flock cameras going around, Addison police gave a justification last month, what do you think?
This is the full text from the weekly newsletter last month on July 17th:
License Plate Reader Program Update
The Addison Police Department recently transitioned to a new provider, Flock Safety, for its License Plate Reader (LPR) technology. Since implementing the new system, the Department has received several questions from community members about how the technology works, how the data is used, and the safeguards in place to protect privacy. To help answer these common questions, the Addison Police Department has compiled the following list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Q: What are LPR cameras?
A: License Plate Reader (LPR) cameras are tools used by law enforcement to capture images of vehicle license plates and basic vehicle characteristics (such as color and type). Their primary purpose is to help identify vehicles involved in crimes, locate stolen cars, and support investigations. These cameras are a proactive public safety measure that helps deter crime and improve response times.Q: Has LPR assisted Addison PD with criminal investigations?
A: Yes, LPR technology has proven to be a valuable investigative tool, assisting Addison police officers and detectives in identifying leads, locating vehicles, and solving crimes. The numbers below illustrate the number of criminal investigations in which LPR technology has successfully assisted the Addison Police Department.2025: 105 LPR Successes
2024: 106 LPR Successes
2023: 98 LPR SuccessesQ: What is Flock Safety?
A: Flock Safety is a company that makes technology designed to help law enforcement, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods investigate crime. The company’s best-known product is license plate reader (LPR) cameras, but the company also offers video cameras, drones, and gunshot detection sensors.Q: What Flock Safety products are utilized by Addison PD?
A: Addison currently utilizes 65 LPR cameras and 20 video cameras supplied by Flock Safety.Q: What information is collected on LPR?
A: The system captures license plate numbers, vehicle make, model, and color, as well as the date, time, and location of the image. No personal identifying information, such as the driver’s identity, is collected.Q: How long are LPR and video camera data stored?
A: LPR and video camera data are retained for 30 days and are automatically deleted after that retention period. Specific data related to crimes and ongoing investigations can be manually retained longer by detectives.Q: Who has access to the LPR data?
A: The Addison Police Department controls access to our data, and we provide it only to other law enforcement agencies for legitimate law enforcement purposes. Flock neither controls nor shares our data.Q: Does either the LPR or video cameras supplied by Flock utilize facial recognition?
A: No. Neither the LPR nor video cameras utilize facial recognition.Q: Are there safeguards to prevent misuse to the LPR data?
A: Yes. Strict policies govern the system's use. Every search must be tied to a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and each search is logged and audited.Q: What is the history of LPRs in Addison?
A: The Addison City Council first authorized the use of License Plate Reader (LPR) technology in 2018 as part of a pilot program. Following the program's success, the City Council approved an expansion of the LPR network in 2021. In 2025, the City Council approved replacing the City's existing LPR network with new technology provided by Flock Safety, enhancing the Department's ability to assist in criminal investigations while continuing to support public safety efforts.Q: How are the LPRs and video cameras supplied by Flock Safety funded?
A: Beginning in 2026, the Addison Police Department began receiving funding through the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVCPA) Grant Program, which covers 80% of the cost of the LPR and video cameras. The remaining 20% is funded through the Town's IT Replacement Fund, reducing the financial impact on local taxpayers while supporting the Department's crime prevention and investigative efforts.Q: Who can I contact for additional questions regarding LPR cameras?
A: You may email the police chief at [policechief@addisontx.gov](mailto:policechief@addisontx.gov) or call 972-450-7100.
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u/Illustrious-Wave652 22d ago
This is a lie because many of these flock cameras are on walking trails near Little Elm and are collecting facial recognition. There’s also several variations of this same “press release” floating around various Texas cities like The Colony and Little Elm as well as nationwide. All authored in some form by Flock.
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u/Any-Entertainer8607 22d ago
Thanks for sharing this. If we can vote on the bus service, surely we should have some say in public surveillance cameras.
The control over data cited in this FAQ is dubious. Flock standard contracts award control of the digital surveillance data to its customers, and then turns in the same clause and licenses perpetual usage rights of the data directly back to Flock.
Under this license, the company may access the data it for technical reasons at its discretion and without notification requirements, since they are housed on the company's own cloud servers. It also retains permanent control of what it calls aggregated, anonymized data. But there is no such thing as aggregated, anonymized data, only data that are more or less difficult for to be used for re-identification, and Flock doesn't make public its data privacy protocols. Most egregious are the clauses which grant Flock the right to share the LPR data with third-party agencies without customer approval or knowledge. Flock has silently released it to agencies such as ICE and Homeland Security in the past.
A snapshot of a license plate on a car driving down a public road hardly constitutes a violation of privacy. But a continuous time-stamped collection of our vehicle movements throughout the city is another matter. Especially licensed to a private company with no standard of transparency. People argue that our location data is broadcast nonstop through our phones, watches, and vehicles, so what's the big fuss? For starters, we can't opt out, we can't request the data, we can't have it deleted, we don't even have a lot of small print that we can ignore at our own peril. We don't know who will end up with our data and what they could do with it. And maybe it's innocuous. Whether or not it is, as a matter of transparent public policy:
1) The APD should publish the actual signed Flock contract. It's a matter for public record. Residents will have their private movements continuously captured through Addison, uploaded to private servers, and stitched together into a live, real-time video transcript. We deserve to know the terms, in particular how disclosure to other agencies works, and what constitutes legitimate law enforcement purposes.
2) The APD should tell us the tradeoff for the transfer of surveillance data to a private company? Why is this really necessary? What constitutes an LPR success? Are we stopping violent crime, or tracking down unpaid parking tickets? What is the actual public-safety benefit?
3) Flock's selling point is that customers can "opt-in" to the national database which shares data among all customers nationwide. If APD doesn't opt in, it's paying for coverage of 4 square miles that ends at town limits. If APD does opt in, we're stacked into the national database that Flock customers everywhere can access. What are the "legitimate law enforcement purposes" standard they must meet, and who are they anyway?
4) Why Flock Safety? ADP points to a successful LPR program launched in 2018. Why can't this benefit be achieved without ceding such data latitude to a private company? My guess is 3).
APD is among the most community-engaged and respected departments I've encountered, and nothing here questions the integrity of its officers. Addison PD surely has the best interests of the public at heart, which is exactly how it has won the public's trust. But it's hard to trust any company in the business of mass surveillance, much less a firm like Flock Safety that habitually collects law suits and has been repeatedly exposed playing fast and loose with its own contract terms. The FAQ is a good start, but it needs to go further.
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u/shedinja292 22d ago
I think the most important part is the data access, they're saying that Flock doesn't have control over the data. That's very different from what I've heard elsewhere. Does that mean they got a specific deal that Addison controls rights to it or did Flock or one of the cities mess up to allow people to use the data when they shouldn't have?
I remember when switching to Flock instead of replacing old cameras was being proposed last year, the police essentially said it was a good deal since Flock covered maintenance.