Bexar County Sheriff | NEC facial recognition
In December 2025 the Commissioners Court authorized the county to negotiate an agreement with NEC Corporation of America for fingerprint identification and facial recognition systems for the Sheriff's Office. We did not find the agreement itself on the agendas through September 2026.
At a glance
- What the Court authorized
- 16 December 2025: negotiation of an agreement with NEC Corporation of America for automated fingerprint identification and facial recognition systems, requested by the Sheriff's Office. Passed with the consent agenda [1] [2]
- What happens next
- The agreement is to come back to the Commissioners Court for approval [1]
- Agreement approved
- Not found on the Commissioners Court agendas through 15 September 2026 [3]
- Cost
- Not stated on the December 2025 item [1]
- Whose faces it would search
- Not stated on the December 2025 item [1]
How it happened
- Context
An NEC maintenance agreement on the consent agenda
Item 22 asks the Court to award a maintenance agreement to NEC Corporation of America for the Sheriff's Office, $256,395, without competitive bidding. The item does not name the system. [6]
- Decision
Negotiation authorized
A Purchasing item on the consent agenda authorizes negotiation of an agreement with NEC for automated fingerprint identification and facial recognition systems for the Sheriff's Office. No Commissioner pulled it, and the remaining consent items passed on a motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, seconded by Commissioner Clay-Flores. [1] [2]
Facial recognition compares a photo of a face against a gallery of stored photos and returns likely matches. Automated fingerprint identification does the same with fingerprints. NEC Corporation of America sells both.
The December 2025 authorization
On 16 December 2025 the Commissioners Court’s consent agenda included a Purchasing item authorizing negotiation of an agreement between Bexar County and NEC Corporation of America for automated fingerprint identification and facial recognition systems, at the request of the Sheriff’s Office. The item said the agreement would come back to the Court for consideration and award once negotiated.[1]
At the meeting, Commissioners pulled several consent items for separate discussion. This was not one of them, and the remaining consent agenda passed on a motion by Commissioner Rodriguez, seconded by Commissioner Clay-Flores, with no opposition voiced.[2]
The item stated no cost. It did not say which photographs the system would search.
Nothing further on the agendas yet
We read the Commissioners Court’s agendas from January 2018 through 15 September 2026 and did not find the NEC agreement coming back for approval.[3] Whether it has been signed is a records question.
The office already pays NEC
Requests to pay NEC invoices for the Sheriff’s Office appear on the consent agenda at many meetings from October 2022 onward, described as repair and maintenance of computers or software, usually $25,479.97 at a time through 2024.[4][5] In March 2018 the Court’s consent agenda carried an NEC maintenance agreement for the office worth $256,395.[6] None of these items says which system is being maintained.
What we do not know
- Whether the county signed an agreement with NEC for facial recognition, and at what cost.
- Which photographs the system would search, such as booking photos or driver's license photos.
- What system the Sheriff's Office's existing NEC maintenance payments cover.
- Whether the office has a written facial recognition policy, and whether searches would be logged and audited.
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have confirmed where each of them meets in Bexar County and how public comment works there.
How to show up in Bexar County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Bexar County Commissioners Court, agenda, 16 December 2025, consent agenda, Purchasing (a scan) · Meeting record · · accessed
- 2. Bexar County Commissioners Court, meeting video and transcript, 16 December 2025, consent agenda · Meeting record · · accessed
- 3. Bexar County Commissioners Court, agenda, 15 September 2026 (a scan) · Meeting record · · accessed
- 4. Bexar County Commissioners Court, agenda, 29 November 2022, item 33 (a scan) · Meeting record · · accessed
- 5. Bexar County Commissioners Court, agenda, 12 November 2024, item 32 (a scan) · Meeting record · · accessed
- 6. Bexar County Commissioners Court, agenda, 27 March 2018, item 22 · Meeting record · · accessed
Get the digest
A regular digest of what changed in the world of surveillance: the counties we published, the devices that appeared on the map, and the public meetings where these decisions get made. We send it when there is enough to report.
One click to unsubscribe. What we do with your address is on the newsletter page.