Fort Worth police will brief the City Council on the department's Flock license plate reader cameras at the council's Nov. 17 work session, a city spokesperson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Monday.
Several council members, including Chris Nettles and Deborah Peoples, asked for the presentation earlier this year, the newspaper reported. The city has contracted with Flock since 2020.
What the system can do
A 2026 contract document the Star-Telegram obtained through a records request describes Flock's "vehicle fingerprint" feature, which can pick out a car's make, color, license plate and state, flag missing or covered plates and detect bumper stickers and decals. Users can search the history of a plate captured by Flock devices and tap into statewide and national plate networks.
The city also has a "community network access" tool that lets owners of private cameras share live feeds with the police department, according to the report.
Police Chief Eddie Garcia has said the cameras have been used in more than 2,000 arrests.
Where council members and critics stand
Council member Michael Crain said in a written statement to the newspaper that effective policing and protecting constitutional rights "are not competing goals" and that any deployment must "strictly dictate how citizen data is accessed, retained, and shared" and carry strict consequences for misuse. He pointed to a 2024 drive-by shooting and the 2023 Lake Como shooting as cases Flock helped solve.
