The divide over license plate readers in Tennessee has grown more intense, with police agencies moving forward with their support for the technology despite a sweeping public backlash.
The Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently went public in favor of license plate readers. That’s in stark contrast to the intensity of pushback from residents at community meetings — as well as a Metro Council in Nashville that has opted not to fund more surveillance for the police department.
“I will say this: I do not see a pathway to get anything approved in our Metro Council any time in the near future,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said recently.
But other agencies don’t share that perspective or the same oversight.
The TBI said license plate readers were particularly useful in missing-person cases.
“Recent TBI cases demonstrate its value,” the agency said in a press release. “ALPR information has helped the bureau and its partner agencies locate missing and endangered children and vulnerable adults, identify vehicles associated with wanted fugitives, and develop leads in investigations involving violent crime, drug trafficking, and organized criminal activity.”
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association said they favored LPRs, but only with what it considered “responsible” use. For them, that includes safeguards like only using them to generate leads, and not as evidence. They also want to see more human verification and a process for the public to report misuse.
But none of these measures are enough for residents like Kelly Chieng, who has been on the front lines of fighting against the cameras for the last five years in Nashville.
She said and others have been speaking out in public meetings all across the state against the technology.
“I think it’s a misconception that we need to have a middle ground on this,” she said. “The fact of the matter is none of these technologies stop crime.
“Best-case scenario, they catch someone doing something and that person is arrested and punished. That doesn’t stop it from happening in the first place. For those of us wanting to redirect funding from surveillance technology, we want that in data-driven, research-driven programs that we know reduce crime.”
Members of the Tennessee legislature have indicated they will bring forth some kind of bill regarding LPRs.
Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, recently told residents that he’s considering restrictions on which law enforcement can access camera data, as well as penalties for abuses.
“There are many municipalities that don’t have policy and procedures,” he said.
It’s not yet clear what the bill will encompass, but the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association said it will come up with its own policy ideas to present to lawmakers.
Chieng said the only legal action she would support is to abolish the use of license plate readers altogether in Tennessee.
“It’s not just people on the left. It’s people on the right — libertarians I know, too — who are absolutely fed up with all of our money going to things that don’t actually serve us,” she said.
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