The Dallas Police Department announced Tuesday that it will shut down hundreds of Flock cameras after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) directed state agencies to halt funding for the automated license plate readers, citing concerns over privacy and Fourth Amendment rights. “Three hundred twenty-one Flock cameras currently supported through…
Page A18From§Eachthe early bird edition — 2 September 2026
Texas ends license-plate surveillance for 321 cameras with a budget line, not a law.
“Three hundred twenty-one cameras just switch off — no vote, no hearing, no law — because the governor found the plug. That's the tell: it was never about your Fourth Amendment, it's about whose budget line it sits on, and when the money's flush again they'll turn it right back on without asking you either.”
“Balance is the key — that's the position, always has been, nobody's saying rip out a tool that solves crimes. Abbott pausing the funding isn't some retreat, it's fiscal responsibility, it's — okay, it's the exact same cameras everybody defended in the spring, but priorities evolve. Did I say "pausing"? We prefer "right-sizing." Forget I said that.”
The receipts
EXCLUSIVE — Rep. John James (R-MI) defended Flock cameras Wednesday but said their use needs guardrails to protect privacy, telling the Washington Examiner that “balance is the key” as the issue becomes a flashpoint in the 2026 elections.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.