Flock Cameras Divide Brazoria County: Pearland Defends Them, M

 Flock Cameras Divide Brazoria County: Pearland Defends Them, Manvel Defunds ThemPearland Police are defending their use of Flock license plate reader cameras, even as criticism of the technology grows across the region. Officer Chad Rogers and crime analyst Lyndall Baker stated that the cameras have helped the department make 326 arrests over the past four years, including tracking a teenager accused of murdering his father in about 40 minutes. Police say the system only alerts them to vehicles tied to crimes and does not constantly track innocent drivers, and they point to an online transparency portal and internal audits as proof the technology is being used responsibly. "We've seen a reduction in crime... a lot of that has to do with the utilization of license plate reader technology," Rogers said.Not everyone in Pearland agrees with that assessment. Former Pearland City Council Member Adrian Hernandez, who cast the only vote against Flock cameras when Pearland approved them, has since spoken out at a nearby Manvel city council meeting warning that the technology threatens constitutional rights. "If the government can bypass the Constitution to target a bad person, it won't be long before it bypasses the Constitution to target anyone," he said. His comments reflect a broader unease among some Pearland residents, even as their own police department continues to promote the cameras as a public safety win.That unease has already pushed neighboring Manvel to take the opposite approach. The Manvel City Council voted unanimously to end its contract with Flock, giving the company 30 days' notice and ordering all 16 cameras covered within 24 to 48 hours. Mayor Dan Davis, who led the push to cancel the contract, said, "They have no place in the city of Manvel. It's time to deflock Manvel." During the hearing, a Flock representative confirmed the company uses city camera data to help train its AI systems, and Davis revealed that hundreds of outside agencies still had access to Manvel's camera network even after recent cuts. Residents at the meeting largely supported ending the program, with one calling the cameras "tools of the surveillance state."The contrast between the two cities highlights a growing divide over how communities should weigh public safety benefits against privacy concerns. Law enforcement officials in both Pearland and Manvel, including a Brazoria County Sheriff's Office chief deputy, argue the cameras are a proven tool for solving crimes and finding missing people. But as Pearland police tout arrest numbers and reduced crime, Manvel's leaders decided the privacy and data-security risks outweighed those benefits, choosing to cut ties with Flock entirely rather than expand its use. The disagreement over Flock cameras is unfolding just miles apart, with one city doubling down and the other pulling the plug.