Image Credit: Tony Webster / CC & Google Earth.
Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –
After residents raised privacy concerns about the city’s use of license plate readers (LPRs), the Collegedale City Commission unanimously voted on Tuesday to end its contract with Flock Safety, a vote which comes five days after the local police department reportedly cut access for officers to Flock’s license plate reader network.
According to Police Chief Jack Sapp, the Collegedale Police Department (CPD) operated six LPR cameras within city limits, which he decided to discontinue access to on Sept. 3 amid resident and commuter concerns.
At the meeting Tuesday Sapp informed commissioners, “Preemptively, I disconnected or terminated any of our officers’ access to it last Thursday. So, as of now, the officers don’t have access to the system, or the ability to use the system.”
He also explained that access was terminated for other local law enforcement agencies that had been sharing the cameras and recommended the city stop using the technology entirely.
“While LPR technology has provided valuable assistance to our officers and investigators, the benefits of any law enforcement tool must be carefully weighed against the concerns, expectations and support of the citizens we serve,” Sapp said.
Vice Mayor Tonya Sadler also encouraged the commissioners to break ties with the surveillance company, stating in a Facebook post she asked the city manager last week to place the issue on this week’s agenda.
“In that conversation, he advised me that he and staff had come to the decision that they also recommended ending the LPR technology use by our police department. I’m very proud that tonight, our Commission demonstrated our desire to protect the privacy of our residents,” Sadler wrote following Tuesday’s vote.
With the vote unanimously in favor of withdrawing from the Flock contract and having the cameras removed, Sadler also shared concerns with the commission that the company may “slow-walk us on responding to collect their cameras and that during that time they will still be collecting data within our city limits.”
She said city staff will keep the commission appraised of the situation and suggested that if the company is unresponsive, the city consider giving Flock a deadline to remove the cameras and then have the city take action to remove them if Flock does not adhere to that deadline.
Collegedale’s vote comes about a week after the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced it would be pausing its own ALPR program, which consisted of a network of about 70 Flock and Motorola LPRs across the county, over privacy and data usage concerns.
Sullivan County also voted not to renew its contract with Flock last month, with Commissioner Joe Carr making headlines for his zesty critiques of the company, calling it “one of the most hated companies in America” and saying the CEO should be hanged for treason.
LPRs and other forms of AI-driven surveillance technology continue to be a polarizing subject amongst Tennesseans, and Americans in general, with many law enforcement agencies supportive of their potential to combat criminal activity while many citizens and some local governments are expressing distaste for what they say are the tools of an illegal surveillance state.
Besides debate over the appropriate balance between privacy and community safety, Tennesseans are sounding the alarm about misuse of the system as reports pour in from all over the nation exposing law enforcement officials and Flock Safety itself abusing the cameras and programs.
The Institute of Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, has catalogued over 100 instances of law enforcement officers using the technology for unsanctioned uses like stalking, including two in Tennessee. Other reports of mistaken identity resulting in wrongful fines or arrests are increasing in frequency, and evidence has been found that Flock has shared data without permission of the contracted customer and has toggled on additional settings and features without consent.
But while cities are cancelling contracts at a record pace, Flock has noted that the company is still adding new customers and agencies at about 10 times the rate of cancellations. Many Tennessee citizens are urging the state legislature to address the issue during the upcoming legislative session in January, pushing for all kinds of solutions from guardrail regulations to outright bans across the state.
Sources:
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
WDEF.
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
TennesseeConservativeNews.com.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Smart.