The Texas Department of Public Safety has confirmed the expansion of license plate readers on state rights-of-way in Austin. This, as you’d expect, has been followed by questions about which agencies can actually see the data those cameras collect. We’re finally starting to learn the answers after further cameras were installed this year.
Last summer there were privacy concerns around these automatic license plate readers. After a test came to an end in 2025, drivers were worried about how their details were being searched for and where/what was being saved.
While Austin has given up on the project, the DPS system sits on state-controlled roads. This is shared across the state of Texas.
In 2022, Austin City Council allowed the Austin Police Department to use Flock cameras. These were dropped due to the aforementioned concerns over the use of the data collected. But there are more readers installed in Austin. The organization behind them saying they can be used to locate missing people, recover stolen property and also flag suspicious vehicles.
According to the DPS, it can only store data for 30 days in a third-party database and up to one year in its own database, which the APD cannot access. Any access to these is logged.
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More than 120 agencies do have access to these databases. This includes Cedar Park, Hutto, Marble Falls, New Braunfels, Round Rock, Elgin, Kyle, Bastrop and Burnet. And while the APD doesn’t have access, they can access relevant information through a partnering agency as long as it’s relevant to its investigation.
“They’ve historically been a very powerful tool for law enforcement, for obtaining leads, for tracking stolen vehicles, and for solving sometimes violent crime. And so, they have been a powerful tool. And helping us also overcome some of our staffing challenges as a force multiplier,” said Michael Bullock, Austin Police Association President.
“This idea that like, sure, if we take away everyone’s privacy, and we monitor everything they’re doing all the time, we will crack down on crime, but that’s coming at a cost. And it’s coming at a cost to people’s individual liberty and to their privacy,” added Jared McClain, attorney for the Institute for Justice.
According to the DPS, license plate readers have already contributed to multiple arrests in February. This includes a traffic stop which led to the seizure of six pounds of methamphetamine. This extra intelligence could come at a cost to the innocent public, however. Many may not be happy with data on them being saved.
