Should Drivers Now Worry About New Flock Cameras In Belton?

Belton, Texas City Council recently approved the police department to apply for a grant, so that six Flock License Plate Readers can be installed across the city. Belton would then be part of the Flock system that allows multiple agencies from around the state of Texas and even the country to access data collected by these additional devices that would be installed in Central Texas.

Read More: Massive Police Surveillance System Now In Place In Texas

A little over a year ago, 60 of these Flock Cameras were installed across Austin, and their capabilities go well beyond reading license plates of potentially stolen vehicles. You almost worry that their presence is much like having an Alexa device in your home because even though they are only supposed to be used when directed, their functions allow them to always be listening or watching.

More Surveillance in Central Texas? Belton Police Apply for Flock Camera Grant

In theory, if these devices were only scanning license plates and only alerting authorities of actively stolen vehicles based on the reported plates, then I do not think anyone would put up too much fuss because who does not want their stolen property quickly recovered? However, major concerns citizens have is whether of not they are being tracked at all times, and are going to be issued citations for less egregious issues like expired tags, a broken or malfunctioning turning signal, or running a red light or stop sign.

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I do like to spout, "If you do not want to be ticketed and fined, do not break the law." Heck, we are trying to take the human element out of baseball with robots calling balls and strikes, why not improve law enforcement the same way?