In Collegedale, Tennessee, officials have covered up former Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras after concerns surfaced that the devices might still be scanning passing vehicles, according to WTVC.
Why “former” cameras still raise questions
When a city says it has ended a contract or decommissioned a camera, most residents assume the scanning stops that day. But ALPR hardware doesn’t necessarily go dark just because a contract ends or a town decides to move on. Cameras can keep running, keep capturing plate numbers, timestamps, and location data, unless someone physically disables or removes them. That gap between a policy decision and a hardware reality is exactly what appears to have prompted Collegedale to cover the units rather than trust that they were inactive.
What ALPRs actually collect
Automated license plate readers photograph every passing vehicle, not just ones linked to a crime or an alert. Each scan typically logs the plate, the date and time, and the GPS location of the camera. Strung together over weeks or months, that data can reveal where someone lives, works, worships, or spends their evenings. That is why questions about whether a camera is truly off, not just supposedly off, matter so much to privacy advocates and ordinary residents alike.
A trust problem, not just a technical one
This situation points to a broader accountability issue that shows up again and again in communities that have hosted Flock Safety or similar systems: once a camera goes up, verifying exactly when and whether it stops collecting data often falls on local officials or the public to figure out, sometimes after the fact. Covering a camera with a bag or cloth is a blunt but visible way to reassure residents that scanning has actually stopped, even if it is not a permanent fix.
What residents can do
If you live in a community that has removed or ended a contract with an ALPR vendor, it is reasonable to ask your local police department or city council for written confirmation that cameras are fully powered down or physically removed, not just disconnected from a database. You can also check DeFlock’s public camera map to see what has been documented in your area, and visit our take action page for guidance on raising these questions with local officials. Learn more about how these systems work on our learn page.
Source: WTVC
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