Flock Retreat Spreads Across Central Texas — But Not Every City Is in the Same Place

CENTRAL TEXAS — The retreat from Flock Safety's automated license-plate-reader network is spreading across the Austin region, but the map is not uniform.

Pflugerville, Manor and Leander have now stepped away from Flock. Elgin has paused its system. Bastrop has covered its cameras while its council prepares for a final contract vote. Burnet County removed the fixed Flock cameras deployed by a regional auto-theft task force.

Elsewhere, the picture is less settled. Liberty Hill is weighing whether to continue its contract. Taylor has paused discussion of renewing or expanding surveillance technology, but WLP has found no confirmation that its existing Flock cameras have been shut down. Cedar Park and Marble Falls likewise should not be described as having ended their programs based on the public record reviewed for this story.

Three nearby cities have now walked away

Pflugerville became one of the region's clearest examples on Aug. 25, when its City Council unanimously declined to renew an $87,500-per-year Flock agreement after the city discovered that data-sharing access had extended beyond the partners officials believed were authorized. The cameras had already been turned off and covered before the vote.

Manor followed on Sept. 3. The Manor Police Department announced that it was ending its relationship with Flock, saying that while license-plate readers can help solve crimes, community trust carried greater weight.

Leander moved the same day. The city now says that, as of Sept. 4, its police department is no longer using Flock cameras or Flock data after the City Council directed that funding for the contract be discontinued.

Elgin paused; Bastrop covered its cameras

Elgin Police Chief Chris Noble ordered his department to pause use of its Flock system on Sept. 2 until elected officials decide whether the program should resume or be canceled. Elgin says its system includes 13 city-funded cameras plus 12 cameras and a mobile trailer supported through state grant funding.

Bastrop took a different interim step. Its City Council voted unanimously to cover all 12 city Flock cameras immediately while setting up a Sept. 8 decision on whether to terminate the contract. That makes Bastrop a covered / pending jurisdiction, not an ended program.

Burnet County's removal was narrower

Burnet County belongs in a separate category. An Aug. 3 memo said all fixed Flock cameras deployed in the county by the Heart of Texas Auto Theft Task Force had been removed after two vandalism incidents.

That does not establish that every Flock or ALPR device operating anywhere in Burnet County has been removed. City, private or state-operated systems are separate questions.

Taylor is not in the shutdown column

Taylor Press reported this week that the Taylor City Council tabled discussion of renewing or expanding police surveillance technology. The item involved an Axon contract that includes body and patrol-car cameras and could also add automatic license-plate readers through a state grant.

That is a surveillance-policy development, but it is not evidence that Taylor shut down its existing Flock network. For that reason, WLP is placing Taylor in the Still Active / Under Review / No Shutdown Confirmed category unless and until the city confirms otherwise.

The same caution applies to Cedar Park and Marble Falls. Public camera and procurement records indicate ALPR/Flock activity, but WLP did not find a confirmed shutdown sufficient to place either city in an ended or paused category.

Liberty Hill is more clearly under review: its current Flock agreement is set to renew in October, and city leaders have been publicly weighing whether to continue it.

The regional pattern is real — but the details matter

The trend is broader than these four counties. Austin did not renew its Flock contract in 2025. Hays County commissioners terminated their Flock contracts that October. San Marcos voted to discontinue its contract, and the city says all city-contracted Flock cameras were deactivated and removed by Feb. 1, 2026.

At the state level, Gov. Greg Abbott has blocked new state spending on Flock cameras, even as the Texas Department of Public Safety continues operating its existing network. The Texas Tribune reported this week that at least 940 DPS cameras had been installed as of Wednesday.

Those distinctions are why a simple "Flock is gone" headline would be misleading. Some governments have canceled contracts. Some have paused use. Some have physically covered cameras while a vote is pending. Some have removed only a particular set of cameras. Others are still deciding what to do.

What has changed across Central Texas is the burden of the debate. Local governments that once treated ALPR networks largely as a police technology purchase are increasingly being asked to explain data sharing, audit controls, outside access, funding and whether the public-safety value justifies collecting searchable vehicle-location records on people who are not suspected of a crime.

For now, the regional map is moving quickly — and WLP will update these classifications as cities take formal action.

Sources

• City of Leander — Sept. 4 notice discontinuing Flock funding and use.
• City of Elgin — Sept. 2 letter pausing the Flock program.
• Community Impact / City of Pflugerville records — Aug. 25 nonrenewal.
• KXAN / Manor Police Department — Sept. 3 termination.
• KXAN / FOX 7 — Bastrop camera-covering vote and Sept. 8 pending decision.
• Burnet County Aug. 3 memo, as reported by Texas Scorecard and regional media.
• Taylor Press — surveillance-renewal discussion tabled.
• Community Impact — Liberty Hill contract review.
• City of San Marcos — ALPR/Flock program status.
• Hays Free Press — Hays County contract termination.
• Texas Tribune — Sept. 4 report on the continuing DPS Flock network.