County nixes license plate surveillance cameras on public land

A minor debate flared up at Tuesday’s Travis County Commissioners Court meeting about installing Flock, a license plate surveillance system, on public lands in the county – specifically Rob Roy, a private residential neighborhood in Austin.

Members of the homeowners association of Rob Roy on the Creek requested that six automatic license plate reading cameras be installed on Furlong Drive, Newhall Lane and Beardsley Lane. Commissioner Ann Howard, who represents the community, motioned for approval of her constituents’ request but did not receive a second.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office already has an agreement with Flock, which automatically alerts the sheriff’s office when a “hotlist” plate drives by. Hotlist plates are defined as stolen plates, on felony or stolen vehicles, according to Flock.

County Judge Andy Brown and commissioners Brigid Shea and Jeffrey Travillion expressed views ranging from hesitancy to outright disapproval of the idea.

“I’m sympathetic to people’s concerns about crime, particularly crime against their home or their property. And I want to acknowledge Commissioner Howard because she’s been super active in her precinct and very enthusiastic about representing the concerns of the community,” Shea said. “My main issue is approving the use of a private surveillance device on public right of way.”

Shea added that she had concerns about setting a precedent. “We would be creating something where I suspect we would have lots of requests to put these private surveillance devices in the public right of way.”

Brown asked a representative from the Sheriff’s Office whether there had been an increase in crime in the area. The office responded no, saying crime was at a “very low level.”

“I support my constituents in this request of using the right of way,” Howard said. “We’re using these in communities east and west of I-35. This is neighborhoods asking for this. They don’t access the technology. It’s not a privacy issue. It’s an issue where law enforcement is able to use the tool to solve crimes that have already been committed. It’s not the sheriff’s department picking and choosing where to put the cameras. It’s us supporting neighborhoods that are asking for additional help.”

“To me, this is a privacy risk and responsibility issue – and race in the South and race in the city have not been handled very well,” Travillion said. “And oftentimes people who are adversely impacted by this happen to be people of color. There can be unforeseen ominous consequences, and we can’t protect for everything. I’m standing against and voting against this item.”

One Rob Roy resident showed a short PowerPoint presentation depicting an instance of power tools being stolen from a truck in front of a home. While the home had security cameras, the license plates on the thief’s vehicle could not be viewed due to the angle.

No action was taken on the issue Tuesday.

Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license. 

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