30 days of general-read retention.
The published policy retains general plate reads for 30 days. It permits placement at city entrances, internal high-traffic corridors, and locations selected using crime trends.
Read Policy 3.06 ↗A citizen ordinance for New Braunfels
Keep the alerts.
End the database.
Police can look for a wanted vehicle without saving a searchable history of everyone else’s trips. We’re organizing to put that principle into New Braunfels law.
Organizing now
We’re preparing a citizen initiative.
Formal petition circulation has not opened.
The distinction that matters
An alert is useful.
A lasting record is a choice.
ALPR stands for automated license plate reader. The policy question is what happens to an observation when a vehicle does not match a lawful hotlist. Our proposal draws the line there.
Permitted by the proposal
Hit-only readers
Compare a passing plate against a narrowly authorized list. Preserve qualifying alerts for verification. Discard nonmatches immediately.
READ → COMPARE → NO MATCH → DISCARD
Prohibited by the proposal
Historical ALPR systems
Save non-hit observations so a vehicle’s earlier locations can be searched later—even when it was not on a hotlist at the time.
READ → STORE → SEARCH THE PAST
These are the proposed ordinance’s functional categories, not vendor “generation” labels. Read the safeguards and exceptions.
What we are proposing
Clear rules for a powerful tool.
A working ordinance that preserves targeted alerts, limits collection, names data recipients, and makes compliance visible to the public.
01
No historical non-hit database
The City could not keep, buy, search, or obtain prohibited vehicle histories through another agency or vendor.
02
City entry points. Mobile patrol.
Fixed readers only at approved New Braunfels boundary crossings. Compliant hit-only readers may operate in moving police vehicles.
03
Texas-only voluntary sharing
Limit voluntary interagency disclosure to eligible Texas state and local agencies. Publish actual recipient names and sharing activity.
04
Limits on facial and AI surveillance
Prohibit generalized tracking and profiling. Allow only a narrow court-authorized facial-recognition exception for a specific investigation.
05
Independent checks and public reports
Verify the technology before use, audit regularly, publish findings, and suspend noncompliant functions.
The New Braunfels record
Start with what
the City publishes.
This campaign is grounded in local policy and public records. Read the source documents, including the City’s explanation of why it uses plate readers.
See the evidenceThe program received a public review.
The staff presentation describes alerts, retrospective investigations, data sharing, and existing audits. Our proposal changes what may be collected and retained in the first place.
Read the Council staff record ↗The citizen-initiative route
From a proposal to a public decision.
01 · Current stage
Organize
Build the volunteer team and supporter list. Refine the ordinance with legal review.
02 · Before circulation
Confirm the rules
Obtain the official signature target, petition format, collection window, and election timetable.
03 · When announced
Gather signatures
Collect valid written signatures from qualified New Braunfels city voters using the final attached ordinance.
04 · After a valid filing
Council or voters
The Charter provides a path for Council adoption or an election. Qualification and legal requirements still apply.
Source: City Charter, Article VI ↗. Reviewed October 10, 2026.
Fair questions
What this would change.
What it would preserve.
We should be precise about the tradeoffs. The proposal keeps targeted alerts and gives up some retrospective investigative capabilities.
Does this ban every license plate reader?
No. The proposal permits hit-only readers at approved city entry points and on moving police vehicles during ordinary patrol. It prohibits the City from retaining and searching observations of vehicles that did not produce a qualifying alert. Ordinary cameras and human review of lawfully obtained evidence are addressed separately.
Do license plate readers help police?
NBPD reports both timely alerts and retrospective investigative leads. Our proposal preserves the alert function. It would remove some uses of historical non-hit records; we do not claim that every current investigative capability would remain. Read NBPD’s examples ↗
Is NBPD using facial recognition now?
NBPD says its ALPR program does not use facial recognition or collect biometric information. The proposed facial-analysis rules are prospective safeguards. The draft permits narrowly scoped, court-authorized facial recognition for a specific investigation; it does not authorize live crowd scanning. NBPD’s explanation ↗
Could existing Flock equipment become hit-only?
That has not been established. A vendor would have to demonstrate that its complete system meets the proposed processing, deletion, and sharing requirements. Equipment that cannot comply would be discontinued under the draft.
Help build the initiative
Make room for a public decision.
Get petition updates, volunteer to collect signatures when circulation opens, or help neighbors read the proposal.