Conroe police chief addresses concerns with Flock safety cameras

When it comes to investigative uses, Buckholtz said the Flock cameras can be used for investigations such as:

• Stolen vehicles
• Wanted suspects
• Missing persons
• Amber Alerts
• Silver Alerts
• Thefts
• Violent crimes
• Burglaries
• Hit-and-runs

When it comes to data storage and retention, Buckholtz said the cameras retain data for 30 days, after which it’s deleted, and the data is encrypted and stored in a secure cloud infrastructure.

In terms of sharing Flock camera data with other law enforcement agencies, Buckholtz said Flock allows the police department to collaborate with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and neighboring cities within a 50-mile radius. Access is not allowed for immigration uses or reproductive care, and Conroe police does not share with any federal agency, Buckholtz said.

Also of note

In response to community concerns, Buckholtz said Flock does not track people throughout the day, identify who’s driving or use facial recognition. The cameras also cannot track someone in real time continuously, only capturing detection where they’re installed.

Buckholtz also said Flock will not sell data for commercial purposes, and while Flock uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is not AI surveillance.

By the numbers

Buckholtz said that in the past 30 days in Conroe, there were:

• 14.4 million camera reads
• 480,880 average daily reads
• 1,733 CPD searches
• 60 average daily searches

Buckholtz said the real-time alerts from Jan. 1-June 10 included:

• 553 warrants
• 166 stolen vehicles
• 38 missing persons

During discussion, council member Ken Blevins asked Buckholtz if footage deletion happens automatically, and what checks CPD has in place to make sure officers aren’t “abusing their access.” Buckholtz said deletion happens automatically, and there is no evidence that the video is retained after 30 days. He also said there is an auditable log of all searches of Flock data.

“Our supervisors, we have policy. If someone does it, they misuse it, they’re not one of our employees anymore,” Buckholtz said. “And most likely, the Public Integrity Unit of the [Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office] would be very interested in that case.”

In response to a question from Blevins, Buckholtz said he’s not aware of a case of an employee misusing the Flock data.

Sellars asked why there is an onus to delete the data after 30 days, and Buckholtz said he believes it has to do with case law and that CPD cannot have long-term retention of that kind of data.

Sellars also asked Buckholtz if he considered Flock a force multiplier, and he said, “Without a doubt.”

“We have a limited number of people because we have to have investigative officers. ... We have other parts of our department,” Buckholtz said. “I believe this tool is completely reactive, very few times is it proactive because it’s a crime that we are already having to react to. It’s already occurred.”

Blevins also asked a Flock company spokesperson about the changing capabilities of the cameras, and they said the more capabilities Conroe would want, the higher the cost. The company doesn’t push capabilities automatically to the cameras.

One more thing

Buckholtz said while the city could use more Flock cameras, he cannot say how many without doing more research.