AUSTIN (KXAN) --- It's been a few years in the making, but the city of Austin now has license plate readers up and running. The Austin Police Department reinstated its Flock camera program with updates to its policy.
Just last week, Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson addressed in a city memo that cameras are operating.
The memo said there are 40 license plate readers across Austin. The pilot program went live back in March. The updated policy includes changes requested by city council.
According to the memo, the system can now only hold data captured by the cameras for a week, which is down from 30 days.
Also, APD officers must train before getting authorization and access to the system. They'll have to go through that training every year.
"This mandated training is tracked through Acadis, the Department’s Learning Management System (LMS)," the memo said.
APD will also work with the City Auditor to review the program, data and internal audit processes prior to the conclusion of the one-year pilot.
While new to Austin, these cameras aren't new to Central Texas.
The Round Rock Police Department, Pflugerville Police Department, Buda Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff's Office all have them.
"If we just enter a type of car or a partial license plate or a color of a car or a sticker, it'll go back and search the database, and if that has been scanned anywhere in the county or anywhere in another city that has flocked cameras that we're sharing information with, it will provide that information," said Hays County Sheriff Deputy Anthony Hipolito.
In the two years since getting Flock, Deputy Hipolito said its helped with cases ranging from stolen cars to a homicide.
"A complete stranger on stranger type, random incident. We were able to find the suspect vehicle within just a matter of minutes by searching a particular color car that might have been in the area."
Deputy Anthony Hipolito, Hays County Sheriff's Office
The Pflugerville Police Department said it currently has 28 Flock cameras.
Since installing its technology in 2022, the department said it has:
PPD said its used the technology to enhance safety and support ongoing investigations.
"Since implementing the technology, our community has experienced a significant reduction in incidents such as vehicle burglaries, shoplifting and catalytic converter thefts. Additionally, we've witnessed a notable increase in the apprehension of suspects involved in stolen vehicle cases, warrant arrests, and the successful recovery of stolen vehicles."
Pflugerville Police Department
At this time, PPD said its not planning to add any additional cameras beyond what it currently has.
