League City residents heading to the polls Nov. 3 to weigh in on Flock surveillance cameras now have a new data point from a neighboring city.
Manvel's City Council voted 6-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to end the city's contract with Flock Safety and ordered all 16 license plate reader cameras covered within 24 to 48 hours. Staff must send Flock a 30-day cancellation notice, KHOU reported.
League City has 55 active Flock cameras and 16 more awaiting permits from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). A five-year agreement valued at nearly $900,000 covers 70 cameras. The city says the system assisted in 305 criminal investigations over a recent 12-month period and helped recover roughly $1 million in stolen property.
The League City referendum is non-binding. Council retains final authority over the program.
Why Manvel pulled the plug
Manvel Mayor Dan Davis told the council his objection centered on Flock's data practices, not license plate reader technology in general. During an hours-long public hearing, a Flock representative acknowledged the company uses camera data to improve the accuracy of its artificial intelligence tools.
Davis also revealed that 535 outside agencies could access Manvel's cameras at any given time, even after the city had already cut 149 agencies from its sharing network.
"That goes far above and beyond what I believe many local governing bodies were told that Flock does," Davis said.
Manvel Police Chief Traylor said an internal audit found no intentional misuse among 138 officer searches during one recent month. He acknowledged police could not immediately say how many of those searches helped close a case, according to KTRH.
Not everyone at the hearing supported the shutdown. Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ian Patin defended the technology as a proven public safety tool, KPRC reported.
Former Manvel Mayor Pro Tem Crystal De Leon Sarmiento, who supported the cameras when they were originally approved in 2024, said her position had changed with new information. She told the council that leaders cannot simply continue a program because it was approved in the past.
Willis also hits pause
Willis, north of Houston, shut off its Flock cameras on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Willis Mayor William Brown said the system would stay off while the City Council reviews the matter. No date has been set for that review, according to KPRC.
Gov. Greg Abbott blocked state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras on Aug. 29, according to Houston Public Media.
League City's ballot question
League City's council voted on Aug. 11 to place the Flock referendum on the ballot. When the council took that vote, Mayor Nick Long said it would be "very foolish" not to listen to voters even though the result is advisory.
League City's camera data is shared with 436 Texas law enforcement agencies and the FBI. The city says it does not share data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, businesses or homeowners associations.
No public response from League City officials to Manvel's Sept. 9 vote has been reported. The Flock proposition will appear alongside mayoral and council races on the Nov. 3 ballot.
