Flock cameras to be removed in Knox County, TN: Commissioner, lawyer explain why

Our Take

Credit to WATE 6 On Your Side for getting a commissioner and a lawyer on camera explaining, in plain terms, why Knox County decided enough was enough. A unanimous vote to remove Flock Safety cameras doesn't happen because of vague unease — it happens when elected officials actually read the fine print on data retention, third-party access, and how easily a 'find stolen cars' pitch morphs into a rolling log of everyone's daily movements.

This is exactly the pattern we track: a county adopts ALPRs with minimal public debate, then months later residents and lawmakers discover the system has no meaningful guardrails on who can query the data, how long it's stored, or whether outside agencies — including federal ones — can tap in. Knox County's commission didn't just complain, they acted, which is more than most jurisdictions manage once these networks are installed. That's the model: scrutiny first, cameras second, not the other way around.

If you want to see whether Flock or similar ALPR systems are already running in your community, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for a scandal to force a vote, our take-action page has concrete steps for pushing your own local government toward the same outcome.