Plano losing 90 flock cameras due to funding
The short version: Plano is shutting down 90 Flock ALPR cameras after Texas pulled the grant funding that paid for them, per WFAA — proof these networks run on shaky money, not public mandate.
Our Take
Credit to WFAA for flagging this: Plano is the latest Texas city forced to power down dozens of Flock cameras because the state funding stream that paid for them dried up. Ninety cameras going dark isn't a policy reversal driven by privacy concerns or community pushback — it's a budget line disappearing. That distinction matters. It shows how much of this surveillance infrastructure was built on temporary grants rather than deliberate, debated local decisions about how much tracking residents actually want.
This is the pattern we keep seeing across the country: cities bolt on ALPR networks fast, often with state or federal money, and only later does anyone ask who's accountable when the funding vanishes, the data gets misused, or a neighboring department starts pulling plate logs for reasons that have nothing to do with the original pitch. Plano losing cameras to a budget shortfall isn't a win for privacy — it's a reminder that these systems were never put to a real public vote in the first place.
If Flock or similar ALPR cameras are still running in your city, check our map to see what's nearby, and visit take action for ways to push your local council toward real oversight — before the next grant check arrives and reinstalls what funding just took away.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WFAA, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.