Bastrop reviews Flock camera policies amid privacy concerns
The short version: Bastrop city leaders are finally asking who can access Flock ALPR data, how long it's stored, and who's watching the watchers.
Our Take
Credit to KVUE for covering a story that too many local governments quietly skip: an actual policy review of Flock Safety's license plate readers. Bastrop is asking the right first questions — who gets access to the data, how long it sits in a database, and what oversight exists once the cameras go up. Most cities never bother with this step; they just sign the contract and let the scanning begin.
This matters because ALPR networks aren't just traffic tools — they're location-tracking systems that log where you drive, when, and how often, often shared across agencies and jurisdictions with little transparency. A 'review' sounds bureaucratic, but it's the only mechanism residents have to force answers before the data-sharing agreements get baked in and impossible to unwind. Bastrop's willingness to even hold this conversation is more than most towns manage.
If you want to see whether your own neighborhood is already wired up, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for your city council to catch up, our take-action page has steps for pushing your local officials toward the same kind of scrutiny Bastrop is only now getting around to.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KVUE, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.