BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — Bryan and College Station are installing more Flock cameras at local intersections — devices that go beyond standard traffic monitoring by reading license plates and capturing vehicle details to help police solve crimes.
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The cameras record a vehicle's make, model, and other distinct features as it passes. Police then use that data to generate investigative leads.
Bryan Police Chief Dean Swartzlander said the technology has already produced significant results.
"We've solved many major cases tied to thefts. Home invasion, burglaries, construction site thefts, motor vehicle burglaries where there's about $300,000 worth of tools stolen, all of it came off investigative leads that we were able to develop off of the Flock camera systems," Swartzlander said.
Not all residents are convinced the cameras are a good idea. Some say the technology raises privacy concerns.
"It just seems like that there's now they have the ability to track you, how many times you come by. You know, stuff like that that's really none of government's concern," Brazos County resident Marcus Posey said.
Posey said he is not fully sold on the benefit of the cameras.
"Obviously law enforcement government thinks that there's some benefit. I'm a little less, enthusiastic about that. I don't really understand what it would solve," Posey said.
Others in the community see the cameras differently. Brazos County resident Otis Preston said the technology is a tool for good.
"If you're not trying to do any wrong, why would it hurt?" Preston said.
Preston added that the cameras allow law enforcement to have a broader presence across the community.
"It's not there to you know, to do anything wrong, but it's there to actually help. You can actually use that technology of being in different places at one time, and you can see what's going on as far as in our community," Preston said.
Police say data collected by the cameras is kept secure and is only shared with other Texas law enforcement agencies. Swartzlander said the data does not stay in the system indefinitely.
"Any data that's captured by the license plate reader itself is in a database for 30 days, and at 30 days, it goes away," Swartzlander said.
Even as some residents remain skeptical, law enforcement says the goal of the Flock camera program is to make the community safer for everyone.
For more information about the Flock cameras, click here.
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