Official first
City records receive priority for Celina locations, purchases, policy, meeting actions, and civic information.
Sources and methodology
Celina should end the ALPR program and remove every city-operated ALPR reader. That position does not change the standard for factual accuracy.
Editorial position
Celina ALPR Watch is an advocacy project. It supports ending the program because the published record shows mass collection, broad access, recurring cost, suspicionless query authority, and no local outcome accounting that justifies keeping the network.
The record also includes evidence that does not favor removal. ALPRs can improve plate-checking efficiency and help generate investigative leads. Celina's policy has safeguards, and access granted is not proof of actual use. Residents should see that evidence too.
Claims about Celina rely first on Celina records. National incidents show possible risks; they are not allegations about Celina. Official records from other cities show that similar programs can be ended, but they do not establish what Celina's contracts require.
Methodology
City records receive priority for Celina locations, purchases, policy, meeting actions, and civic information.
Vendor claims, independent research, live snapshots, inferences, and proposed safeguards use distinct status labels.
"Granted access" is not treated as proof that an organization searched or used Celina data.
"Not publicly disclosed" does not mean "does not exist," and national incidents are not presented as Celina misconduct.
Dashboard figures are date-stamped so readers can distinguish a current value from a historical snapshot.
The live portal was checked on September 7, 2026 and showed a source update date of September 6: 48 LPR and other cameras, 404,865 plate reads, 193 searches, 4,592 raw hotlist hits, 30-day retention, and 1,082 sharing entries representing 1,079 distinct organization names. City purchase records document 47 ALPR readers; the public records reviewed here do not identify or classify the additional portal camera. These rolling totals show activity, not confirmed outcomes. Celina displayed no Public Search Audit section. Eight Texas agency portals used for comparison were last checked on August 4, 2026 and displayed a public 30-day audit.
Keeping figures current
Camera, plate-read, retention, and sharing figures can change. The site shows a verification date beside those claims and checks an official source before replacing a dated value.
Older figures are described as historical snapshots, not as current facts.
Expanded source library
Each entry states the claim it supports and opens the original source in a new tab. The library includes official municipal transparency comparisons and termination records in addition to Celina materials, law, research, vendor statements, and independent reporting.
Celina Police Department · Current page reviewed Sept. 14, 2026
Local descriptions of detections, prohibited uses, indefinite access logging, internal program-management audits, and police contact information.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Effective Jan. 2, 2025
Permitted and prohibited uses, search documentation, retention, verification, and DPS transfer.
Open sourceCelina Police Department / Flock Safety · Figures and audit visibility verified Sept. 7, 2026; portal last updated Sept. 6
48 LPR and other cameras, 30-day retention, 404,865 plate reads, 193 searches, 4,592 raw hotlist hits, and 1,082 sharing entries in the dated rolling snapshot. City purchase records document 47 ALPR readers; the additional portal camera is not identified or classified in the records reviewed. The portal does not display a Public Search Audit or CSV download.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Dec. 10, 2024
Council agenda context for the first camera purchase.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Dec. 10, 2024
6-0 consent-agenda approval and the first purchase amounts.
Open sourceCity of Celina / Flock Safety · 2024
Six readers, initial and renewal terms, retention, notice, and disclosed costs.
Open sourceCelina Police Department · 2024
Six officially documented camera IDs, intersections, directions, and coordinates.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Dec. 9, 2025
Council agenda context for the 41-camera expansion.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Dec. 9, 2025
7-0 consent-agenda approval of the expansion purchase.
Open sourceCity of Celina / Flock Safety · 2025
41 readers, pricing, renewal terms, notice, and Flock Nova OSINT Data and Customer Data included in the purchase package.
Open sourceCelina Police Department · Dec. 9, 2025
Grant history, a planned $112,000 grant share, a $28,000 city share, annual reapplication, and the stated 12 to 18 month deployment objective.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Apr. 14, 2026
The consent agenda passed 6-0 and included Resolution No. 2026-015R authorizing another MVCPA grant application. The minutes do not establish a grant award.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 17, 2025
Celina described 150 broad vehicle-related calls, requested 41 readers, named general deployment areas, and discussed regional sharing and possible retail participation.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 18, 2025
A Prosper representative described a regional network involving Prosper, Frisco, and Celina. The testimony does not establish Celina's exact role or show that Celina operates drones.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · Current disclosure
Lists a $112,000 contract with Celina effective September 5, 2025 through August 31, 2026. It does not show how much has been reimbursed.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 22, 2026
Lists Celina for a $98,400 FY2027 task-force grant award recommendation later approved by the MVCPA Board.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 24, 2026
Lists the FY2027 task-force grant recommendations as a board action item.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 24, 2026
Records the Board's 3-0 approval of the FY2027 task-force grant awards as previously presented. The current expenditure disclosure does not yet list a new FY2027 Celina contract.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · 2025
Requires quarterly progress and expenditure reports, annual inventory, and final or closeout reporting from grantees.
Open sourceTexas Department of Public Safety · Current form reviewed Aug. 4, 2026
Describes contributed data, authorized sharing, audits, termination, and a three-year minimum retention period unless the user agency requests a shorter period. Celina's signed agreement was not located.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Current page
How to request existing city records and where written requests may be sent.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Current portal
Direct public form for submitting a public-information request.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Verified Sept. 14, 2026
Current council members, roles, contact addresses, and meeting information.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Reviewed through Sept. 14, 2026
Current agendas and meeting materials. No public ALPR termination, non-renewal, deactivation, reader-removal, access-closure, or deletion action was located in the records reviewed through this date. No ALPR or Flock item was located on the Sept. 8 regular-meeting agenda or the Sept. 15 joint-meeting agenda.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Posted Sept. 1, 2026; reviewed Sept. 7
No ALPR, Flock, reader-removal, or program-termination item was located in the agenda and packet.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Posted Sept. 9, 2026; reviewed Sept. 14
No ALPR, Flock, reader-removal, or program-termination item was located in the agenda and packet.
Open sourceCity of Celina · Mar. 10, 2026
Current-year Open Forum instructions: submit a speaker card before the meeting, three-minute limit, and nine copies for handouts.
Open sourceTexas Department of Motor Vehicles · July 18, 2025
Celina's listed $112,000 Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority award.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · Current code
Public access to existing government records, subject to statutory exceptions.
Open sourceTexas Attorney General · Current guidance
Open-records rulings, exceptions, and governmental-body guidance.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · Current code
The consumer privacy law's exemption for state agencies and political subdivisions.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · 2025
Proposed warrant or court authorization, offense limits, destruction, and reporting safeguards.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · 2025
The proposal was referred to committee and did not become law.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · 2025
Proposed use limits, federal-sharing restrictions, 48-hour deletion, reporting, and civil remedy.
Open sourceTexas Legislature · 2025
The proposal remained in committee and did not become law.
Open sourceU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Mar. 17, 2026
The limited periodic public-road LPR observations at issue were not a Fourth Amendment search.
Open sourceU.S. Supreme Court · June 22, 2018
Long-term historical cell-site records were treated as a search; the case did not concern ALPRs.
Open sourceNational Institute of Justice · Dec. 2011
Plate checks, hits, and vehicle recoveries increased in the evaluated deployment.
Open sourceNIJ CrimeSolutions · Posted May 16, 2013; no longer updated
The profile rated the program ineffective and reported no statistically significant reductions in the evaluated general- or vehicle-crime measures.
Open sourcePolice Practice and Research · 2025
Limited support for broad crime-reduction claims alongside possible investigative benefits.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor description of searchable vehicle records and product capabilities.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor description of LPR data and system rules.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor statement that cameras capture still images rather than ordinary streaming video.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor-described sharing and access controls.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor-described compliance and audit controls.
Open sourceFlock Safety · Current page
Vendor-described restrictions involving immigration and certain search terms.
Open sourceFlock Safety · June 2, 2026
Vendor description of customer-controlled retention, automated deletion, audit logs, legal-hold exceptions, and deletion verification.
Open sourceArvada Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
One detailed example of the portal's downloadable 30-day Public Search Audit, with user IDs masked and timestamps, network counts, and offense types published.
Open sourceTemple Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourcePflugerville Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceMidlothian Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceKemah Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceIowa Colony Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceFair Oaks Ranch Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download even when its current search count is zero.
Open sourceEdinburg Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceDenton Police Department / Flock Safety · Verified Aug. 4, 2026
Texas agency portal that publishes a Public Search Audit and CSV download for searches performed over the prior 30 days.
Open sourceCity of Mountain View · Feb. 25, 2026
Unanimous contract termination after cameras were disabled; the city announced physical removal as the next step.
Open sourceCity of Staunton · Jan. 9, 2026
Contract termination was confirmed while physical camera removal had not yet been scheduled, showing why a removal commitment also needs a deadline.
Open sourceCity of Kaukauna · July 8, 2026
The city declined renewal and said it was working with Flock to deactivate and remove six readers.
Open sourceCity of Columbia Heights · June 4, 2026
Staff proposed immediate service termination, formal non-renewal, remaining contract payments, disconnection, and removal of all 12 readers.
Open sourceAssociated Press · 2025
The federal-access pilot controversy, Illinois access finding, and pause.
Open sourceAssociated Press · 2025
Reported Border Patrol access and searches routed through some local agencies.
Open sourceAssociated Press · 2024
A wrong-state plate match, family detention, and $1.9 million settlement.
Open sourceElectronic Frontier Foundation · Oct. 2025
An advocacy account of ALPR use in an abortion-related investigation; not a finding about Celina.
Open sourceDeFlock · Current map
A separate crowdsourced reference that is not Celina's official inventory.
Open sourceUnanswered public questions
Until the City answers those questions, the site labels them Not publicly confirmed rather than treating missing disclosure as proof.
Ask for answers
The prepared message asks the City to release the missing records and discuss the program in public.