Could Burchett’s surveillance bill impact Tennessee police? Mt. Juliet says not Flock
The short version: Rep. Burchett's bill would restrict federal funding for ALPR surveillance, but Mt. Juliet PD's quick claim that it 'doesn't apply to Flock' shows how easily local agencies dodge accountability.
Our Take
Credit to FOX 17 Nashville for actually picking up the phone and asking a local department how a federal surveillance bill might hit home. That's more scrutiny than most Flock deployments ever get. But the answer Mt. Juliet PD gave — essentially 'this law doesn't touch us' — is exactly the kind of self-serving parsing that lets these networks keep expanding no matter what Congress does.
Bills like Burchett's are aimed at closing the federal money spigot for mass ALPR surveillance, but police departments have gotten very good at explaining why their particular camera contract is somehow different, somehow local, somehow exempt. It's a shell game: cities lease Flock hardware through local budgets or grants routed around federal restrictions, and suddenly a law written to rein in this exact technology gets waved off as irrelevant. Meanwhile the cameras keep scanning every plate that passes, building a searchable log of where you drove, when, and how often — no warrant required.
Federal legislation matters, but it only works if local agencies can't just define their way out of it. If you want to know whether Mt. Juliet-style dodges are happening near you, check our camera map to see what's already been deployed in your area, and use our take-action guide to push your city council for real transparency before the next contract gets signed.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of FOX NASHVILLE, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.