A Texas county has taken a visible step back from automated license plate surveillance after officials ended a contract with Flock Safety, a company whose cameras have become part of a growing national debate over public safety and privacy. In Hood County, Precinct 2 Constable John Shirley was asked to disable three Flock cameras following the county commissioners' decision to end its agreement with the company. Shirley unplugged and covered the devices, later telling Flock to “come get your garbage out of my county,” according to a Facebook post shared by him. The move comes amid growing debate in Texas and elsewhere over whether automated license plate readers provide valuable investigative tools or enable widespread tracking that warrants greater oversight.
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