Ballot Initiative Petition

DeFlock Conroe

1,000 signatures from registered Conroe voters puts a binding public referendum on the City's Flock license-plate camera program on the ballot. We're aiming for the May 2027 election.

Why This Petition

Council already said no

On August 13, 2026, Conroe City Council voted to block a resident-led referendum on the Flock program from reaching the ballot, denying voters a direct say on a surveillance program they were never told about when it started.

The program has been running since 2021, starting with a 19-camera pilot. Council approved the current five-year contract in September 2024. The actual invoiced terms: 51 cameras, $127,500 a year, $637,500 total, running through 2029, all without a single resident vote of any kind.

A citizen advisory committee to study the program was proposed and then tabled indefinitely at the same July 23, 2026 meeting it was introduced. No oversight committee was ever formed. The contract continued uninterrupted.

If council won't let residents vote on it, residents can force the question onto the ballot themselves. That's what this petition does.

Want to understand how Flock's camera network works more broadly, beyond Conroe? deflock.org is an independent resource worth a look. We're not affiliated with it, but it's a good reference.

How We Got Here

19 cameras became 51, one contract at a time

Every expansion was approved by council. None was put to a resident vote. Sourced to the city's own council packets, budgets, and contemporaneous reporting.

Dec 2020–Jan 2021

19 cameras · the initial test

Conroe PD tests Flock; council moves toward initial deployment. Contemporaneous reporting cited about $98,000 for the 19-camera system.

Read the source →
Mar 2022

22 cameras · first Flock contract

Council approves a two-year Flock contract covering installation and maintenance at 22 locations.

Read the source →
Jun 2022

32 cameras · grant-funded expansion

10 more cameras added via a $20,000 grant, $5,000 city match, and $3,500 installation.

Read the source →
2023

44 cameras · city budget confirms it

City financial records show a $66,000 line item for 44 Falcon cameras, plus a separate $28,500 Flock LPR line.

Read the source →
Sep 2024

51 cameras · the current 5-year contract

Council approves the contract still running today: $127,500 a year, $637,500 over five years, through 2029. Still no resident vote.

Read the source →
Where They Are

111 cameras mapped around Conroe

DeFlock, a crowdsourced volunteer project, has documented 111 automated license plate readers in and around Conroe, 91% of them Flock Safety units. Each dot is a camera someone actually located and logged.

DeFlock crowdsourced map showing automated license plate reader camera locations clustered around Conroe, TX, with 111 cameras in view, 91% identified as Flock Safety

Map and data: DeFlock.org. We are not affiliated with it. See the full map, live →

Get involved