DPS pauses new Flock camera installations after Abbott funding clarification - KEYE

The freeze applies to future installations only, at least for now. DPS says roughly 900 cameras are already operating statewide, and the department has not said whether those will be affected. Abbott's press secretary confirmed the position directly: "To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras."

That statement leaves a lot hanging. DPS has not addressed what happens to the 900 cameras already up and running, which means anyone in Lubbock or across Texas who drives past one of those readers every day has no clear answer on whether the network stays live, shrinks, or gets pulled entirely. Flock cameras read license plates automatically and are used by law enforcement to track vehicles connected to crimes or missing persons cases.

The gap between "paused new installations" and "what about the existing ones" is the question nobody has answered yet, and 900 cameras is not a small number to leave in legal and funding limbo.