Amid controversy over Flock cameras and license plate readers, a look at where the leading Texas Attorney General candidates stand

Public backlash against Flock cameras and other license plate readers has increased in recent months in Texas and across the country. In response, Governor Greg Abbott last week directed the State Department of Transportation to stop issuing permits for new license plate readers. Last month, he paused state funding for Flock cameras. Privacy advocates and others have expressed concerns because law enforcement officers have been able to track people without any crime being committed. But law enforcement officers say license plate readers have allowed them to solve murders and rescue a child who was kidnapped.

We asked the two leading candidates for Texas Attorney General, Democrat Nathan Johnson and Republican Mayes Middleton where they stand on the use of license plate readers.

Johnson, a State Senator from Dallas, told CBS News Texas, "I'm always in support of technology that can make us safer by fighting crime better, that can make police safer, that can lower the cost of law enforcement." While he said the cameras can be used effectively, he also expressed concerns, saying, "I don't think that they have been deployed responsibly." Johnson said as Attorney General, he would protect the right to privacy. "Until we have built into our statutory and regulatory framework the kinds of laws that will prevent the illicit sharing of data and the illicit sharing and the sharing for the wrong purposes of information that is captured by these cameras, I think we need to slow down." 

He referenced cases in other states in which officers tracked people using Flock cameras and shared them across districts and state lines. Johnson said, "That's Orwellian surveillance. That's not crime fighting. On the other hand, if we're trying to bust up cartels and trafficking and we can get a warrant and we do look for information across districts, that could be very helpful. I just don't think that the legislature or the agency state has anticipated sufficiently what can go wrong with this technology. Until we give that some more thought, I think we need to pull back on it." Johnson said state lawmakers need to act during the next legislative session starting in January and should receive input from local communities. "I think this needs to be a cooperative, interactive process between local governments, local law enforcement and the state legislature to come up with the best policy."

Middleton, a State Senator from Galveston, told CBS News Texas, he supports the technology but that there need to be guardrails in place to prevent misuse. He said a license-plate reader helped recover their stolen vehicle. "My wife and I had a vehicle stolen. She was actually asleep. She was pregnant at the time. They went upstairs. They stole her wallet as well," Middleton said. "We didn't know who did it, but a license plate reader camera was able to recover the vehicle." But Middleton said he wants to see increased penalties for law enforcement officers who abuse the technology. 

"You should lose your law enforcement license if you're abusing the Flock system or a license plate reader camera system," Middleton said. "Also, it should be a criminal penalty, not just a misdemeanor — a felony." When asked whether a court order should be required before an officer can access a license-plate reader database, Middleton said, "You got to have an active case, just like they did in my case here when they stole the car," he said. "We filed a police report. They came and took fingerprints. We had an active case, so they entered an active case. That's how it should work." Middleton said lawmakers need to address this issue in the next legislative session. "We do need legislative action to put those guardrails on license plate reader cameras, including Flock, to make sure the stories that we're reading about, people logging in, tracking girlfriends. Those are things that shouldn't be happening. We've got to stop that."

Texans have until Monday, October 5 to register to vote. Early voting begins Monday, October 19. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.

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