City to consider removing Flock cameras, limiting future pacts

Our Take

Credit to KTSM 9 News for flagging a real inflection point: El Paso's City Council isn't just debating whether to keep its Flock cameras running, it's weighing whether to limit the city's ability to sign similar contracts down the road. That second part matters as much as the cameras themselves — once a vendor relationship and data-sharing habit is built, it rarely gets dismantled without a deliberate policy fight like this one.

This is exactly the kind of local showdown that decides whether mass license plate surveillance becomes permanent infrastructure or gets checked before it metastasizes. Council members weighing this vote should ask the basic questions too many cities skip: who can access the scan data, how long is it kept, and what independent audit exists to catch misuse. "Helps solve car thefts" is not the same as "justifies tracking every vehicle that passes."

If you're in El Paso or anywhere with a Flock network nearby, check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and use our take-action resources to push your own council toward the same kind of scrutiny before the contract, not after.