SIGNALDATAInsights. For the People.
Preview
License-plate readers · Rutherford County

Rutherford County

Using license-plate readers · 1 agency documented

← Statewide map
Anderson CountyBedford CountyBenton CountyBledsoe CountyBlount CountyBradley CountyCampbell CountyCannon CountyCarroll CountyCarter CountyCheatham CountyChester CountyClaiborne CountyClay CountyCocke CountyCoffee CountyCrockett CountyCumberland CountyDavidson CountyDecatur CountyDeKalb CountyDickson CountyDyer CountyFayette CountyFentress CountyFranklin CountyGibson CountyGiles CountyGrainger CountyGreene CountyGrundy CountyHamblen CountyHamilton CountyHancock CountyHardeman CountyHardin CountyHawkins CountyHaywood CountyHenderson CountyHenry CountyHickman CountyHouston CountyHumphreys CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJohnson CountyKnox CountyLake CountyLauderdale CountyLawrence CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLoudon CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMaury CountyMcMinn CountyMcNairy CountyMeigs CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMoore CountyMorgan CountyObion CountyOverton CountyPerry CountyPickett CountyPolk CountyPutnam CountyRhea CountyRoane CountyRobertson CountyRutherford CountyScott CountySequatchie CountySevier CountyShelby CountySmith CountyStewart CountySullivan CountySumner CountyTipton CountyTrousdale CountyUnicoi CountyUnion CountyVan Buren CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWeakley CountyWhite CountyWilliamson CountyWilson County

Murfreesboro Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No official total. WKRN (April 2025) reported the council approved 22 more Flock 'public safety cameras' on top of 15 (WKRN did not say these were plate readers); a Sept. 2025 contract added 34 plate readers and 26 video cameras around parks and greenways.
Contract
Vendor not named in source: $517,832 term · approved by City Council, 2025-09-18 · Three-year contract for 34 plate readers and 26 video cameras at parks and greenways; WSMV did not name the vendor or a vote count. (WSMV, Sept. 19, 2025)
Contract
Flock Safety: $243,898 term · approved by City Council, unanimous roll call, 2026-06-18 · Two-year renewal; the Scene describes it as the Raven gunshot-detection service (originally bought January 2024, running through 2028); WSMV describes the renewed Flock contract as covering plate readers and gunshot microphones. (Nashville Scene, July 7, 2026; WSMV, Aug. 13, 2026)
  1. Oct. 31, 2023 MPD General Order 627 on license plate readers took effect, limiting use to trained staff with a law-enforcement purpose and requiring audits by the crime-data supervisor. (Murfreesboro Police Department, Oct. 31, 2023)
  2. April 2025 City Council approved MPD's request for 22 more Flock public-safety cameras for its Real Time Crime Center, adding to the 15 it had. (WKRN News 2, April 18, 2025)
  3. Sept. 18, 2025 City Council approved a three-year, $517,832 contract for 34 plate readers and 26 video cameras in and around parks and greenways. (WSMV, Sept. 19, 2025)
  4. May 2026 A city spokesperson said readers had helped identify suspect vehicles, generate leads or assist officers in 652 cases and that images are deleted after 30 days unless kept for an active investigation. (WKRN News 2, May 22, 2026; Murfreesboro Police Department, Oct. 28, 2026)
  5. June 18, 2026 City Council unanimously approved a two-year, $243,898 renewal of Flock's Raven gunshot-detection service; in a separate information-only presentation on plate readers, police reported 30-day retention and access limited to 8 of 361 sworn officers. (Nashville Scene, July 7, 2026)
  6. Aug. 13, 2026 Residents asked City Council to end the Flock contract; the council took no action. (WSMV, Aug. 13, 2026; NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), Aug. 13, 2026)
  7. Sept. 17, 2026 Police Chief Michael Bowen removed a proposed link between the department's DroneSense drone software and Flock from a drone-licensing item before the council approved it. (WSMV, Sept. 17, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • April 2025 approval: WKRN article dated April 18, 2025; meeting date not given, so month used.
  • Sept. 2025 meeting: WSMV says 'last night' (Thursday) in a Sept. 19, 2025 article.
  • City RTCC page: data kept 30 days then deleted, stored in AWS GovCloud, available only to law enforcement, never sold.
  • Sources differ on what the June 2026 renewal covered (gunshot detection only per the Scene; plate readers and gunshot detection per WSMV).
  • May 2026 event: WKRN article published May 22, 2026 (Central); spokesperson statements undated, so month used.

From agency records.

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.