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License-plate readers · Knox County

Knox County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Knox County Sheriff's Office

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
140
About 140 Flock cameras in use before the August 2026 removal ordinance (farragutpress says about 143); a planned 270 more were never installed.
Contract
Flock Safety: $800,000 total · WVLT reports an $800,000 purchase of Flock camera leases through the Omnia cooperative surfaced at the Aug. 25, 2026 meeting with KCSO and Flock; the mayor said a $2.6 million maintenance request would follow. (WVLT, Aug. 31, 2026; WVLT, Oct. 6, 2026; farragutpress, Sept. 2, 2026)
  1. July 20, 2026 Commissioner Adam Thompson raised the sheriff's planned Flock rollout (270 locations, per the procurement director) at the commission agenda meeting; a grant of more than $1.5 million was tied to a new sheriff's center that would house camera footage. (WVLT, July 21, 2026)
  2. July 27, 2026 Sheriff Tom Spangler announced installation of the remaining cameras was paused while existing cameras kept operating with 30-day retention. (WVLT, July 27, 2026)
  3. July 27, 2026 The Knox County Commission voted unanimously to revisit continued installation and use at an August meeting; an emergency ordinance to stop use immediately did not pass that night. (WVLT, July 27, 2026)
  4. Aug. 31, 2026 The Knox County Commission voted 11-0 for an emergency ordinance requiring removal of the sheriff's fixed plate-reader cameras within 30 days and destruction of data not tied to active investigations. (WVLT, Aug. 31, 2026; farragutpress, Sept. 2, 2026)
  5. Sept. 9, 2026 County Mayor Betsy Henderson said Flock would miss the Sept. 16 removal deadline, projecting Oct. 7, and the county would place temporary privacy shields over the cameras. (WVLT, Sept. 9, 2026)
  6. Oct. 6, 2026 The sheriff's office said it had complied with the ordinance: it no longer buys, leases or runs fixed plate readers, will let no such agreement renew, and is taking units down or cutting off their access on county and state roads. (WVLT, Oct. 6, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Camera planning figures vary across reports (more than 200, 270, nearly 300). Grant figures vary ($1.5 million vs more than $1 million).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Knoxville Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon
Cameras
19
19 fixed Axon plate readers installed as of July 29, 2026, with 8 more expected; separately, 30 mobile readers built into patrol dashcams. Fixed and mobile counts are separate.
  1. Feb. 18, 2022 The city reported that 18 Flock cameras placed around Knoxville had contributed to 120 arrests, 97 recovered vehicles and 14 seized firearms in under a year. (City of Knoxville, Feb. 18, 2022)
  2. July 2026 Chief Noel issued a public statement saying KPD runs 19 fixed Axon plate readers, with eight more due within weeks, plus 30 readers built into patrol dashcams; mobile readers date to 2013 and fixed ones to 2021. (WVLT, July 29, 2026; WVLT, July 26, 2026)
  3. July 8, 2026 Police Chief Paul Noel said KPD no longer uses Flock cameras but uses other plate-reading cameras, and that data is purged automatically unless needed. (WVLT, July 9, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • WVLT (July 26, 2026) reports KPD keeps plate-reader data 30 days unless needed for an investigation.
  • KPD previously used Flock (18 cameras per a February 2022 city post). Hoodline, citing WBIR 10News Investigates, reported the Flock contract lapsed Dec. 31, 2025 and the city moved to Axon; the WBIR original could not be opened, so that detail is held as a lead.
  • In 2022 the city counted 18 Flock cameras; a Sept. 3, 2024 WATE article (tn261028-d-wate-morristown-0903) said KPD had 27 Flock cameras.
  • July 9 interview took place Wednesday, July 8, 2026 per WVLT. Noel statement dated by month: WVLT (July 29) calls it a recent post.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2014 Tennessee law (T.C.A. § 55-10-302, added by Acts 2014, ch. 625) bars government agencies from keeping data captured by automated license plate recognition systems for more than 90 days. Data kept as part of an ongoing investigation may be held longer but must be destroyed when the investigation ends without charges or when the related criminal case concludes. (City of Murfreesboro, Sept. 15, 2023)
  2. 2021 A 2021 state law authorizes TDOT to let law enforcement agencies install cameras on interstate and state highway rights of way. TDOT later said the law gives it permission to allow such cameras but does not require it to. (Tennessee Lookout, May 20, 2022; Tennessee Department of Transportation, April 23, 2025)
  3. April 22, 2021 Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 699 (Public Chapter 201), which made captured plate data from license plate reader systems confidential and not open to public inspection. The Senate passed it 29-0 and the House 86-1. As passed, the confidentiality provision was set to expire July 1, 2026. (Plural Policy (Open States), April 22, 2021)
  4. March 2022 TDOT turned down a West Tennessee police department's request to put a plate reader on a state highway right of way. The department cited an ongoing review of the state's role in plate-reader use. A Tennessee Lookout column reported that the Lee administration was reviewing privacy, data collection and public safety questions around the cameras. (Tennessee Lookout, May 20, 2022)
  5. April 6, 2022 HB 2586, sponsored by Rep. Michael Curcio, would have raised the state's 90-day limit on keeping plate-reader data to 100 days. It was taken off notice in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and did not pass. (FastDemocracy, April 6, 2022)
  6. April 23, 2025 TDOT issued Traffic Memorandum TM 2504, which sets out how local governments and law enforcement agencies get permission for surveillance cameras, including plate readers, on interstate and state route rights of way. Each request is reviewed by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, regional TDOT offices and TDOT's Excess Land Committee, and needs a signed license agreement before installation. Agencies with cameras already on state right of way must go through the same steps. (Tennessee Department of Transportation, April 23, 2025)
  7. July 28, 2026 State Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knox County) said he plans to talk with other state lawmakers about plate-reader limits before the January legislative session. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) questioned whether the cameras are needed. U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett has introduced a federal bill that would bar federal funds from paying for license plate readers. (WVLT / WMC Action News 5, July 28, 2026)
  8. Aug. 20, 2026 The Tennessee Sheriffs' Association and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police announced a joint effort to draft recommended principles and model-policy guidance for plate-reader use, which they expect to present to the General Assembly before the 2027 session. Safeguards under consideration include a documented law enforcement purpose for searches, human verification of alerts before enforcement, access limited to trained staff, search audits, rules on sharing, retention and deletion, and discipline for misuse. (Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police / Tennessee Sheriffs' Association, Aug. 20, 2026)
  9. Aug. 21, 2026 TBI said it supports responsible use of plate-recognition technology, limits access to trained, authorized staff, bars personal and political use, and requires audits. Director David Rausch said the technology must be used responsibly with clear rules and accountability. TBI said it would work with partners and policymakers on standards. (WTVF NewsChannel 5, Aug. 21, 2026; WZTV FOX 17 / WTVC NewsChannel 9, Aug. 23, 2026)
  10. Sept. 2026 In a WVLT interview, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said plate readers are likely legal when they collect data in plain view for a limited purpose. He said he expects the General Assembly to take up the issue, and that lawmakers could choose a ban or set limits on how long data is kept and how it is used. No formal Attorney General opinion was cited. (WSMV / WVLT, Sept. 17, 2026)

State agencies

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed. TBI describes using plate-reader data in investigations; it did not say whether it owns cameras.
  1. 2024 TBI said plate-reader data helped investigators quickly narrow in on suspects in the shooting of a Tennessee state trooper. (WZTV FOX 17 / WTVC NewsChannel 9, Aug. 23, 2026)
  2. Aug. 21, 2026 TBI said in a statement that it uses plate-recognition technology in some cases. It said Georgia plate data helped find a 1-year-old taken from Tennessee and helped track a missing at-risk adult to Colorado. TBI said its policy bars personal, political and retaliatory use and requires audits. (WTVF NewsChannel 5, Aug. 21, 2026; WZTV FOX 17 / WTVC NewsChannel 9, Aug. 23, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The statement does not name a vendor. In the cases TBI cited, the plate data came from other states' or agencies' cameras.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Tennessee Highway Patrol (Department of Safety and Homeland Security)

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
  1. Oct. 15, 2012 WCYB reported that a Tennessee state trooper's cruiser had a four-camera plate-reader system that checked plates against a database, and that the patrol was adding such systems on an ongoing basis. (WCYB, Oct. 15, 2012)
  2. April 23, 2025 Under TDOT's TM 2504, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security reviews every application for a plate reader or surveillance camera on state highway right of way. (Tennessee Department of Transportation, April 23, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No current source found on THP's own plate-reader program. The 2012 report is the latest found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.