League City voters could decide this November whether the city keeps its Flock Safety automatic license plate readers, after Mayor Nick Long said Tuesday, Aug. 4, that he placed a referendum on the upcoming city council agenda.
"If it passes, it will give the citizens an opportunity to decide if we want automatic license plate readers in League City," Long said on X.
The move escalates Long's approach to the surveillance technology debate. On July 28, he proposed creating a citizen oversight committee to audit the city's existing Flock cameras, as we reported July 29. A referendum would go further, putting the program's future directly in residents' hands.
The council must first approve placing the item on the Nov. 3 ballot, which already carries five council seat races ordered at the July 28 meeting. Long did not specify which council meeting would take up the referendum item.
What the cameras do
Flock Safety cameras capture license plate numbers, vehicle make, model, color and distinguishing features along with the date, time and location of each image. They do not photograph faces or identify vehicle occupants. Data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless flagged in an active investigation, according to a Malwarebytes report on the technology.
The League City Police Department has credited the cameras with helping crack a major organized retail theft case in July. Investigators used Flock data to identify vehicles tied to the operation, which led to the arrest of Claudia Ivonne Higuera-Torres, 52, of Houston on a first-degree felony organized retail theft charge and the recovery of more than $400,000 in stolen merchandise, according to LCPD's announcement.
Privacy concerns driving the debate
Nationally, privacy advocates have raised alarms after reports that federal agencies including Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement accessed local Flock camera data in some cities without local police departments' knowledge. At least 30 localities have deactivated cameras or canceled contracts since early 2025.
Long acknowledged those concerns in his July 28 proposal, calling the technology effective while noting the national privacy debate.
Flock cameras operate in more than 5,000 cities and counties nationwide, with over 100,000 units installed across the country as of November 2025.
What happens next
The referendum must clear the council before it reaches voters. No council members or LCPD officials have publicly commented on the proposal as of Aug. 4. Residents can watch for the item on the next posted council agenda at leaguecitytx.gov.
