Texas Police Are Using AI to Predict Crime — Here’s What It Means for Your Rights

Texas is moving fast when it comes to artificial intelligence. Law enforcement agencies across the state are quietly adopting AI-powered surveillance systems — from camera networks that detect weapons to predictive algorithms that claim to forecast crime before it happens.

AI surveillance camera scanning pedestrians on a Texas street at night with digital overlays and data grids symbolizing predictive policing technology.

At the same time, Texas has enacted the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) — a sweeping new law set to take effect on January 1, 2026 — aiming to regulate how government entities use AI.

Together, these developments signal a dramatic shift in how Texans’ constitutional rights will be tested in the age of AI.

The Quiet Expansion of AI Policing

In Hale County, officials recently approved installing AI-powered cameras capable of scanning live video for firearms. The system can send alerts to law enforcement within seconds — even before an officer sees anything firsthand. It’s marketed as “proactive safety,” but for everyday Texans, it represents something new: continuous, algorithmic surveillance of public spaces.

Meanwhile, across Texas, local agencies are experimenting with similar technology — facial recognition, crowd analysis, and “predictive policing” models that use historical data to identify “high-risk” areas or individuals.

The question isn’t whether AI policing is coming. It’s already here. The question is whether it’s constitutional.

Texas’ New AI Law — TRAIGA

TRAIGA is Texas’s first attempt to put guardrails around AI use by state and local government.

Here’s what it does:

• Bans “social scoring” by the government — rating citizens based on behavior or associations.

• Restricts biometric identification (like facial recognition) without consent.

• Requires transparency, reporting, and oversight when government uses AI systems.

In theory, it’s designed to prevent abuse. In practice, it will depend on enforcement — and on how courts interpret constitutional challenges when AI and government power collide.

Infographic illustrating constitutional red flags in AI policing, including Fourth Amendment, Equal Protection, First Amendment, and Due Process concerns, set against a digital Texas-themed background.

Constitutional Red Flags to Watch

1. Fourth Amendment — Algorithmic Probable Cause

If an AI camera flags you as “suspicious” or “armed,” and officers stop or search you, what’s the basis? A human observation or a machine’s hunch? Probable cause and reasonable suspicion are human legal standards — not algorithmic predictions.

False positives can lead to wrongful stops, searches, or even arrests. That’s why courts may soon face cases asking whether an AI alert alone can justify a seizure.

2. Equal Protection — Biased Data, Biased Outcomes

Predictive policing tools rely on historical crime data — and history isn’t neutral. If past policing disproportionately targeted certain communities, those same patterns get baked into the algorithm.

TRAIGA’s transparency requirements are meant to help uncover these biases, but without public audits, Texans won’t know whether the systems are reinforcing existing inequalities.

3. First Amendment — Chilling Speech and Assembly

AI surveillance doesn’t stop at crime prediction. Systems that monitor public gatherings or protests can discourage people from speaking, organizing, or showing up at all.

Just last week, a federal judge blocked parts of Texas’s new campus-speech law, citing First Amendment violations — a reminder that even well-intentioned laws can cross constitutional lines. Expect similar challenges if AI surveillance chills protected expression.

4. Due Process — Black Box Decision-Making

Imagine being questioned, detained, or denied entry to a building because “the system flagged you” — and no one can explain why. That’s a due-process problem.

If a person can’t meaningfully challenge an algorithmic decision because the underlying data or model is secret, accountability vanishes. The Constitution requires more than blind trust in code.

What Texans Can Do

If you’re stopped or flagged by law enforcement because of an AI alert:

1. Ask what triggered the stop. Was it a human observation or an AI system?

2. Request identification of the tool. Was facial recognition, object detection, or predictive analysis used?

3. Document everything. Note location, time, officers involved, and visible cameras.

4. Consult an attorney quickly. These systems often log data for short windows. Early legal action can preserve vital evidence.

How Grable Law Can Help

At Grable Law PLLC, we represent Texans in civil rights and constitutional cases — and we understand how emerging technology changes the landscape of government power.

We can help you:

• Investigate whether an AI alert or predictive system triggered unlawful action.

• Obtain vendor contracts, accuracy reports, and algorithmic audit data through discovery.

• File injunctions or lawsuits to stop unconstitutional AI surveillance.

• Appeal rulings involving new technology and unsettled constitutional questions.

When algorithms replace accountability, we make sure the Constitution still applies.

The Bottom Line

AI-assisted policing is no longer science fiction — it’s a legal frontier unfolding in real time.

Texas’s new AI law sets important boundaries, but enforcement and oversight will be everything. If your rights are violated because of an algorithmic decision, don’t assume the law hasn’t caught up — you might be the case that makes it.

If you believe your constitutional rights were violated through AI surveillance or predictive policing, contact Grable Law PLLC today. We stand up when technology tests the limits of liberty.