Harris County has no complete inventory of its license plate reader cameras, a new county report found.

The county also does not know every outside agency that can access the data the cameras collect. The Harris County Office of County Administration released the findings ahead of the Commissioners Court meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called for the review and is now pushing for stronger, standardized privacy protections across county agencies, KPRC 2 first reported.

The report carries a direct connection to the Clear Lake area. Of all county agencies surveyed, only four provided written policies governing their use of the cameras. The Harris County Precinct 8 Constable's Office, which patrols Webster, Seabrook, Nassau Bay and Clear Lake Shores, was one of them. The other three were the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office and Constable Precincts 2 and 7.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office, which also serves parts of the Clear Lake area, reported that its policy is still being revised. No public timeline has been set.

What the report found

The review identified 154 county-funded Flock camera systems. That total includes 125 tied to commissioners' precincts and 29 operated by county law enforcement agencies. The Sheriff's Office separately reported administering 17 Flock camera networks containing nearly 500 cameras.

Those numbers represent only a fraction of the cameras in the county. Fox 26 reported that a December 2025 analysis from Flock Safety data estimated up to 5,300 active Flock devices operating in Harris County. The ownership of roughly 4,600 of those cameras remains unknown, according to the review. They could belong to HOAs, utility districts, corporations or private businesses.

The review also flagged inconsistencies among the agencies that do have policies. Rules differ on how long data can be stored, who can access it and when it can be shared. Under the county's current Flock contract, collected data is generally deleted after 30 days.

Civilian access concerns

The report arrives amid broader questions about who can search the camera network. The Houston Chronicle reported that a civilian employee in Commissioner Tom Ramsey's Precinct 3 office searched the Flock system more than a dozen times in 2025. In one instance, a Precinct 3 employee used the network to look for a vehicle stolen from a coworker's family member, according to the Chronicle's reporting.

Hidalgo raised the civilian-access issue during a Sept. 21 interview with the Chronicle. "Right now there's nothing in the contract that explicitly says precinct staff can't search the camera system," she said.

What happens next

The report recommends commissioners consider establishing a workgroup to develop stronger policies governing the county's use of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs. That group would review potential changes to the Flock contract, including restrictions on data access, sharing and retention. Under the proposed timeline, the workgroup would return to Commissioners Court with recommendations by February 2027.

Hidalgo's office said existing protections are insufficient. The judge also said the county should consider more immediate solutions rather than waiting months for the workgroup's recommendations.

The Oct. 15 discussion comes after Commissioner Lesley Briones ordered all 61 Precinct 4 Flock cameras covered and taken offline on Thursday, Oct. 8, citing residents' privacy concerns. Commissioners Court approved a roughly $2 million renewal of the Flock Safety contract earlier this year.

Residents who want to follow the issue can watch Commissioners Court proceedings on Harris County's website.