Council approves Flock Safety license-plate reader purchase; police and residents debate privacy and placement

The Killeen City Council authorized a professional services agreement for automated license-plate reader technology from Flock Safety on March 4, approving a two-year contract totaling $488,250 as part of the consent agenda (vote 7-0).

Chief of Police Rafael Lopez presented the item and said the system is intended to bolster the department’s real-time crime center and support investigations into vehicle-related crime, including catalytic converter thefts. The procurement was tied to an existing grant application: "In November 2024, the Killeen Police Department submitted an application for Senate Bill 244 catalytic converter grant to the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority," Chief Lopez said.

Chief Lopez described how the system works and addressed privacy concerns: "Flock Safety does not collect personal data such as names, phone numbers or addresses nor does it track specific locations of individuals. The information captured by LPR cameras can help determine whether vehicles at the crime scene... Records will be retained for 30 days by KPD before permanently delete it." He added that officers will corroborate any LPR hit with additional evidence before taking action.

Flock Safety representative Kevin Cutler told the council the vendor’s network is used by commercial customers and law enforcement nationwide and that data is cloud-stored and deleted after the 30-day retention window. "These FLOC cameras are actually solving 12% of all crimes nationwide at this point," Cutler said during the discussion.

Council and public questions Councilmembers probed long-term costs, funding sources and placement policy. Chief Lopez said most of the project is grant-funded and the department’s local match is approximately 20%: "It's a 20% match. So we applied $400,000 and our match is a hundred thousand dollars," he said, adding that the city will use grant and state seizure funds for the match.

On placement and equity concerns, Chief Lopez said departments typically do not disclose exact camera locations because operational effectiveness can be compromised if locations are publicized; he added cameras will be placed on public property only. The city attorney confirmed there is no legal requirement to publish surveillance locations in this context. Several residents raised questions during public comment about constitutional protections and referenced Carpenter-related case law; the chief and city attorney said Carpenter (which governs cell-site location information) does not apply to LPR technology.

Vendor, data storage and audit controls Chief Lopez described audit controls and access rules: officers’ access to footage will generate an audit trail, and the department said it would not rely on an isolated LPR hit as sole evidence for arrests. Cutler and the chief said LPR captures plate, vehicle make/model and color, and that commercial and HOA customers may also participate to expand coverage areas where appropriate.

Council action and financing The council approved the procurement as part of the consent agenda; staff said the total two-year contract cost is $488,250, apportioned across two fiscal years ($267,250 in FY2025 and $221,000 in FY2026). Staff told council the grant cover most of the cost and the city's match will come from general fund allocations and state seizure funds; the mid-year budget amendment will capture the grant award and grant-match accounting.

Ending With the procurement approved 7-0, KPD will begin implementation and work with Flock Safety on technical deployment. Councilmembers asked staff to return with implementation details addressing privacy safeguards, placement criteria and ongoing funding plans before cameras are operational.