Municipal leaders in El Paso are preparing to decide whether to completely dismantle the city’s network of automated license plate readers. The El Paso City Council is scheduled to evaluate a pair of decisive proposals that could mandate the immediate removal of approximately 150 Flock Safety cameras stationed throughout the municipality.
The targeted agenda items, set for formal consideration during the council’s upcoming Sept. 15 session, represent one of the most substantial local challenges yet to private automated surveillance infrastructure in the state of Texas. If the measures receive final approval, the city will begin an orderly phaseout of the controversial camera technology.
Both legislative items were formally introduced by Councilmembers Chris Canales and Josh Acevedo, who are seeking to establish clear municipal boundaries regarding automated tracking and public surveillance equipment on city-managed property.
The first proposal focuses directly on the physical infrastructure currently installed across the city. Under this measure, El Paso’s city manager would be instructed to oversee the full removal of all Flock cameras, along with any related hardware, from public rights of way, municipal properties, and other designated areas subject to city oversight.
City records indicate that this removal directive would have to be completed within a 60-day window following approval. Furthermore, the instruction would apply universally regardless of who holds legal ownership of the hardware, granting the city manager authority to physically dismantle the units or coordinate their extraction directly with Flock Safety or another authorized third party.
The second measure introduced by Canales and Acevedo aims to prevent similar surveillance programs from emerging in the future. If adopted, it would legally prohibit El Paso from entering into, renewing, or extending contracts with Flock Safety or comparable vendors for fixed automated license plate readers.
To implement this long-term policy, the measure directs the city attorney’s office to draft a binding formal resolution within 30 days. This step ensures that the discontinued Flock network cannot simply be replaced with another vendor’s fixed, networked scanning apparatus unless the city council explicitly votes to authorize it in a future action.
The proposed restrictions, however, are carefully tailored to avoid disrupting other conventional municipal functions. According to official agenda documentation, the policy would not outlaw handheld license plate scanners, vehicle-mounted systems deployed by law enforcement, or specialized scanning tools used exclusively for toll collection, parking regulation, and facility access control.
Local reporting from KTSM indicates that roughly 150 Flock cameras are currently in place across El Paso. The council's upcoming deliberations arrive shortly after the El Paso Police Department decided to halt its active utilization of the Flock network earlier in September, creating a critical opening for elected officials to determine the permanent fate of the equipment.
The suspension of the camera network has brought differing viewpoints within local government into sharp focus. When the police department ceased its active use of the system, El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas issued a warning indicating that disconnecting the automated tools could potentially lead to slower response times for officers responding to incidents.
Conversely, council members pushing for removal have expressed serious reservations regarding public privacy and vendor accountability. Councilmember Canales openly praised the police department's initial operational pause in an early September public statement, characterizing the surveillance setup as an experiment that needed to end.
Canales specifically argued that Flock Safety has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be untrustworthy, pointing to vulnerabilities that make such systems susceptible to misuse and unauthorized access. His comments reflect mounting skepticism among privacy advocates and local officials over the widespread deployment of automated vehicle tracking networks.
The debate in El Paso also aligns with broader pushback occurring across the state. In late August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mandated that all state agencies halt funding allocations for Flock camera networks, citing significant concerns regarding potential misuse and the unchecked expansion of mass surveillance systems.
A growing number of local jurisdictions have taken similar steps to scale back or eliminate these surveillance networks. To date, at least 20 cities and counties across Texas have severed ties with Flock Safety, rejected pending contract agreements, or taken existing cameras completely offline.
Despite these recent cancellations, the technology remains prevalent throughout the state. Data compiled by Flock Camera Locations reveals that more than 16,500 Flock cameras continue to operate across Texas, with Houston maintaining the highest recorded concentration of active devices.
As El Paso approaches its pivotal Sept. 15 vote, council members will weigh the operational arguments presented by law enforcement against growing community demands for privacy protections, potentially establishing a precedent for how large Texas cities manage automated surveillance in the years ahead.
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