By Tracy Murphree, Denton County Sheriff
At the end of 2024, the Denton County Sheriff’s Office installed eight Flock Safety cameras, strategically positioned around our facility.
Flock Safety is a comprehensive public safety system that integrates hardware such as license plate readers, cameras and gunshot detection, combined with machine learning to assist communities, businesses and law enforcement agencies in effectively investigating, solving, and preventing crimes.
Flock Safety’s partner network includes more than 1,000 businesses, including four of the nation’s top 10 retailers, seven of the 10 largest shopping malls and 10 of the 40 largest U.S. health systems.
These partnerships involve major businesses, retailers, residential communities and other private sector entities that use Flock Safety cameras for security, including Academy Sports and Outdoors, Lowe’s, Home Depot, homeowner’s associations, apartments, schools and universities.
Flock cameras are also located in many southern Denton County towns and cities, including Lantana, Bartonville, Argyle, Highland Village, Northlake and Lewisville.
These cameras contribute to the overall safety of our residents and are proven tools for crime reduction as well as aiding law enforcement in solving numerous cases, including kidnappings, human trafficking, stolen vehicles, Amber Alerts and missing persons.
It is important to know that the Flock system is designed with privacy in mind. It does not collect personal information, nor does it use facial recognition technology. Instead, it captures vehicle data through still images, avoiding video recording or continuous tracking of individuals.
While a person may appear briefly in an image, the system cannot search for, identify or filter personal data, ensuring the privacy of our residents remains protected. This camera system is a valuable asset to the county and we look forward to the upcoming improvements and positive impacts it will bring.
