Princeton is the second Collin County city in a week to reconsider Flock license plate reader cameras, days after the Wylie City Council voted unanimously to suspend its own contract.

Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. announced Monday, Aug. 31, in a Facebook video that he will ask the Princeton City Council to pause installation of Flock cameras the city received Aug. 27. Princeton's council had approved the cameras in June 2025, funded through a state grant from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority.

Wylie's 7-0 vote came Tuesday, Aug. 25, after more than 700 residents signed a petition opposing the cameras, WFAA reported. Mayor Matthew Porter said the existing deal lacked adequate safeguards.

"The protections are just not there and are not required in the terms of the existing contract," Porter said at the Aug. 25 meeting, according to the DeFlock Wylie campaign website, which attributed the quote to local news coverage.

Escobar said Princeton originally approved the cameras after the technology helped police solve a local homicide, tracking down a suspect and locating the victim within hours. But he told FOX 4 on Aug. 28 that he does not see a path forward for the cameras in Princeton.

"We don't know if somebody in Utah, in New York, is looking at residents here," Escobar said.

In his Monday video, Escobar said he is not criticizing the Princeton Police Department. His concern, as Local Profile reported, centers on how the technology could be used beyond its original public safety purpose by agencies outside the community.

Flock cameras use automated license plate recognition (ALPR) to photograph vehicles and collect data including plate numbers, vehicle make, model, color and details such as dents and bumper stickers. Law enforcement agencies across the country can search the database.

Wylie has used six Flock cameras since August 2024, paying about $27,000 a year. The council's vote suspends the contract's automatic renewal, set for Oct. 13. A work session is planned before that deadline to discuss whether new terms could address residents' concerns. If no agreement is reached, the cameras come down.

Wylie Assistant Police Chief Tommy Walters told the council the department had no policy violations related to the cameras in two years of use. He cited privacy protections including a transparency portal and monthly search audits.

The local pushback fits a wider pattern. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause Flock camera funding Aug. 28, the Texas Tribune reported. Princeton's cameras were funded through the same state grant program Abbott's order targets. Nationally, at least 93 jurisdictions ended Flock contracts in August alone, a fourfold increase over July, according to Ars Technica.

Neither Princeton nor Wylie has announced a date for its next council discussion on Flock cameras.