At a city council meeting on September 14, Plano City Manager Mark Israelson confirmed that the city’s contract with Flock Safety has been terminated. The decision follows Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement that state grants for local police departments to purchase Flock cameras are on hold.
Background and Funding Shift
Plano Police Chief Ed Drain explained that the city had been using Flock cameras for three years under a contract funded primarily by state money. With the state grant now paused, the city faces a choice: allocate local funds to keep the system running or wait for further guidance from state officials.
“We’re more concerned about what’s going to happen in the upcoming Texas legislative session before we put a lot of money into Flock that may restrict our use on it,” Drain said.
State‑Level Concerns
The Governor’s Office, represented by spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris, warned that Texas is seeing a “crackdown” on alleged misuse of Flock camera data. Mahaleris cited a case in Lufkin where a police officer faced 100 felony charges for improper use of the system and noted that investigations are ongoing in other municipalities.
“Almost all Flock cameras in Texas are used by cities, and those cities are increasingly canceling their contracts with Flock. To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras,” the statement read.
Local Voices and Community Input
During the council meeting, three Plano residents voiced concerns about the technology. Connor Boykin, a member of the Revolutionary Front DFW, a local socialist advocacy group, argued that the cameras have been repeatedly abused and that “there will never be a scenario where these cameras can exist without being abused.”
Chief Drain, however, highlighted the system’s benefits, noting that Plano’s violent crime rate has declined over the past three years. The city recorded a violent crime rate of 1.46 incidents per 1,000 residents in 2025, down from 1.6 per 1,000 in 2023.
“[Flock] has been a really good toolkit and if we can get it back, we would love to,” Drain added.
Next Steps
Flock Safety will now remove the cameras from Plano’s streets. Drain cautioned that the removal process could take some time, saying, “Looking at how broad this cutoff was, it may take them a while to come in and get all those cameras out of there.”
The city will continue to monitor the legislative environment and assess whether local funding could support a future public‑safety technology solution that aligns with community expectations and state regulations.
Original reporting: Community Impact — Plano — read the source article.
