Cities around the country have been debating the ethics of Flock Safety cameras, with advocates saying they are crucial for crime prevention and critics citing privacy violations. Numerous cities in the South have joined the debate, and the most recent participant is Knox County.
The controversy surrounding the devices stems from the fact that, unlike CCTV cameras, which only record footage, Flock Safety cameras collect information and store it in a searchable database, allowing law enforcement to track vehicles.
The data procured by the cameras can alert officers when and where a car has left from and where it's going, creating a detailed report helpful in investigating stolen vehicles, missing persons and other criminal cases.
Knox County's dispute
is less about whether the cameras help solve crimes. Rather, its focus is on the transparency and oversight that comes with having a sophisticated and far-reaching surveillance network, and the fact that the decision to implement Flock Safety cameras was approved without public input.
What is Flock?
Founded by a group of Georgia Tech alumni, Flock is a roughly eight-year-old company valued at about $7.5 billion. Garret Langley, the founder and CEO of Flock, did not invent ALPR devices. Rather, he made them cheaper and more accessible, as they are solar powered and connected over cell networks
According to USA TODAY, Flock operates in more than 6,000 communities and is present in almost every corner of American law enforcement.
Powered by AI, Flock's cameras are attached to poles throughout communities and process billions of scanned license plates and vehicle details a month. As of September 2025, Flock was involved in about 20% of arrests in the areas where it was stationed.
“We want to turn every officer into Superman on day zero,” Langley told USA TODAY.
“Our goal is to give cities control,” Langley added. “Transparency and oversight remain in their hands.”
Why are people concerned with Flock Safety Cameras?
Even though Flock Safety cameras don't collect personal data, critics of the technology argue that the vehicle data the technology collects allows law enforcement to discover more information about certain individuals.
The technology raises Fourth Amendment questions, given that it gives law enforcement the ability to reconstruct a person's travel patterns without a warrant, in turn revealing where someone lives, worships, and frequently spends time.
"It doesn't matter which company has its creepy cameras in your neighborhood; they all have the same problems," the ACLU said in a June statement regarding the ALPR market as a whole.
"A lack of transparency, oversight, and regulation into how they collect, store, and use our data, and how to hold public and private actors accountable if they abuse it."
What has happened in Knoxville's Flock camera debate so far?
According to Knox News, Knox County commissioners are pushing back on the sheriff's plan to implement Flock's surveillance cameras through its Advanced Research and Communications Center. Commissioners are arguing they were not fully informed on this aspect of the project when the $1.6 million funding was first approved on Nov. 7, 2025.
Commissioner Adam Thompson said last year's approved resolution failed to disclose the surveillance component of the Flock Safety cameras. What commissioners want to learn from the sheriff's office regarding the devices and the center pertains to data collection, privacy and civil liberties protections and the general use policies for Flock Safety cameras.
On July 27 commissioners, flock representatives and sheriff's office leaders were supposed to have a workshop session, but that has been canceled. No reason nor new date were given, but Commissioner Shane Jackson told Knox News in a text that he will "ensure this is a 'postponement' and not a cancellation."
Commissioners, Flock representatives and sheriff's office leaders were scheduled to hold a workshop session July 27, but it has been canceled. Neither a reason nor a new date was provided, but Commissioner Shane Jackson told Knox News in a text message that he will "ensure this is a 'postponement' and not a cancellation."
Later that day, the commission is scheduled to vote on whether to ask the Knox County Sheriff's Office to temporarily cease communication center operations until the agency answers "important questions concerning data collection, data retention, authorized access, auditing, information sharing, cybersecurity, privacy protections, oversight mechanisms and compliance with federal and state law," according to Knox News.
Later that day, the commission is scheduled to vote on whether to ask the Knox County Sheriff's Office to temporarily cease communication center operations until the agency answers "important questions concerning data collection, data retention, authorized access, auditing, information sharing, cybersecurity, privacy protections, oversight mechanisms and compliance with federal and state law," Knox News reported.
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs share concerns over Flock cameras
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Sheriff Tom Spangler agreed on July 22 that the sheriff's office will not use the cameras for the next several weeks while the county and the department flesh out an agreement.
The new sheriff, who starts Sept. 1, will decide how the cameras are used.
"The more that I have learned about these devices, the more deeply concerned I've become with their impact on our civil liberties and privacy," Jacobs told Knox News.
"The Flock cameras are not yet operational, and Sheriff Spangler has assured me that the cameras will not be turned on during the very brief remainder of our terms in office. As always, I appreciate his consideration and cooperation."
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett chimed in on the matter with a similar perspective to Jacobs. "I heard about it when they first started going and at first I thought, 'That can't be right,'" Burchett told Knox News.
"I've been aware of it, and I don't like it, and the public hates it."
"I think people were just kind of caught off guard, even members of law enforcement," said Burchett, who lives in Thompson's district. "I think there was a miscommunication between the whole thing. [Jacobs] is a libertarian when it comes to this stuff. There's no way he would've agreed to that."
"It's too much, I see it as a very slippery slope," Congressman Burchett concluded.
According to Knox News, Burchett plans to introduce legislation that could bar federal security grants from funding surveillance equipment similar to Flock's. If successful, county offices, such as the Knox County Sheriff's Office, could not procure federal funding for such devices.
Allie Feinberg of Knox News contributed to this report
Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at PBurditt@nashvill.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What are Flock cameras? Why the devices are sparking debate in Knox County
