Young County approves installation of Flock cameras

Young County Commissioners are looking to improve security by installing Flock Safety cameras and partnering with the city of Graham and city of Olney to set up a camera system. 

These items were discussed on the agenda at the commissioners court’s meeting Monday, Aug. 11. Young County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Will Cauthern gave a breakdown to the court of the financials for the project and the potential benefits of this system. 

Cauthern said the county was awarded a $78,400 grant from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVCPA) that was matched with a $19,600 grant from Young County. 

Cauthern went on to say that these cameras, along with license plate readers, would be used in cities like Graham and Olney in order to help aid criminal investigations, such as stolen or missing vehicles along with individuals who may have active warrants. 

This would be done through artificial intelligence programming within the Flock cameras that would allow vehicles to be identified based on their make, color and decals, acting as somewhat of a digital fingerprint. 

Cauthern presented the court with a financial quote breaking down the costs and distribution of this technology from flock. A total of 26 license plate readers and four real time surveillance cameras will be installed in the county funded by the MVCPA grant and Young County’s cash match. 

Each license plate reader costs $600 and the real time surveillance cameras cost $1,000. Four license plate readers and one real time surveillance camera will be placed in Graham’s city limits as well as Olney’s city limits. 

In Graham, this equipment will be placed at the US-380 Bypass and Elm Street intersection. Olney will see their equipment installed at the intersection between SH-114 and SH-79. 

The remaining cameras and readers will be placed on highways in Newcastle and Loving as well as “various entry points” around Young County. 

Graham and Olney will split the costs 50% for the installation of equipment in their respective cities, while the county will cover the cost of the remaining 18 license plate readers and two surveillance cameras, based on the proposed interlocal agreement. 

The court also said that they would use funding from Senate Bill 22, which offered grants to rural law enforcement agencies in areas like Young County, to fund the county’s portion of the installation costs. 

Members of the commissioners court saw the installation of the Flock cameras as a benefit for use in criminal investigations. 

“Jack County has had a partial system in, and they’ve had numerous stolen vehicles located. They’ve seen it as a huge, huge win, even with a partial system,” Graham said. 

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jimmy Wiley, described the cameras as almost a symbolic investigative officer. 

“It’s an officer that works 24 hours a day and doesn’t eat or sleep, so that’s a big plus,” Wiley said. 

However, commissioners Stacy Creswell and Scott Shook reminded the court of public concerns regarding the installation of these cameras, citing the potential for overuse of surveillance and the risk of an abuse of power for smaller criminal acts such as traffic violations. 

Cauthern said these cameras would be used specifically for significant investigations and would not be indiscriminately storing information on residents. 

“I understand a lot of the public’s concerns with the privacy aspect of it,” Cauthern said. “This is an investigative tool. It’s to help prevent crime. The scope of our investigations are not going to be something as minor as traffic violations.” 

The court ultimately ruled unanimously to approve the grant for installation of these cameras as well as agreeing a partnership with the cities of Graham and Olney to set up the camera system.