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License-plate readers · Shelby County

Shelby County

Using license-plate readers · 4 agencies documented

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City of Lakeland

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
30
30 Flock cameras: 20 at first, 10 added later (Vice Mayor Wesley Wright to FOX13, late 2023). No newer count found.
  1. Nov. 2023 Vice Mayor Wesley Wright told FOX13 that Lakeland has 30 Flock cameras, starting with 20 and adding 10, and that it was among the first Tennessee governments to buy them. (FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 21, 2023)
  2. Sept. 3, 2026 The Lakeland Board of Commissioners reviewed its Flock camera use, with a presentation from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. The Daily Memphian reported that the camera data is kept for 30 days unless it is flagged as part of a crime. (The Daily Memphian, Sept. 5, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Lakeland is listed as a city government, not a police department. The Daily Memphian article is paywalled, so any vote or decision at the Sept. 3, 2026 meeting is not known.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Germantown Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
39
39 cameras paid for by the department and placed at city entrances and choke points (city post, Aug. 5, 2026). The department also has shared access to private cameras, number not given.
  1. Oct. 2019 Germantown police began a trial of five plate-reader cameras and secured a lease the next month. (City of Germantown, Aug. 5, 2026)
  2. Aug. 5, 2026 The department published an explainer on its plate-reader program. It says stored records are deleted automatically after 30 days unless an investigation or prosecution needs them, that each search must have a valid law enforcement purpose, a written reason and any related incident report number, and that its guidelines were amended recently. It says the data is shared with other law enforcement agencies but does not name them. (City of Germantown, Aug. 5, 2026)
  3. Oct. 28, 2026 The agency is listed as 'Germantown TN PD' among the agencies with access on the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Flock transparency portal (date viewed). (Flock Safety (for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office), Oct. 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The city's post does not name a vendor. Flock is the vendor because 'Germantown TN PD' appears in the list of agencies on the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Flock transparency portal (viewed Oct. 28, 2026).
  • The city post gives no approving vote or lease amount.

From agency records.

Memphis Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No MPD-owned count disclosed. In August 2026, MPD told WMC Action News 5 there are 200 Flock cameras citywide. MPD told the Memphis Flyer it does not count all Flock cameras in the city, because many belong to businesses, neighborhoods and partner groups. A 2025 plan called for 94 more readers on interstate ramps.
  1. March 2009 MPD put the first squad car with an automatic plate-reading camera into service. About 65 cars were to be equipped by the end of 2009, at nearly $17,000 per car. (WMC Action News 5, March 24, 2009)
  2. Feb. 2024 The Commercial Appeal reported that MPD and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office can access each other's camera systems, and that MPD's Connect Memphis program ties private, SkyCop and other camera feeds into its Real Time Crime Center. (The Commercial Appeal (via Yahoo News), Feb. 19, 2024)
  3. Oct. 2024 Flock Safety said it was partnering with MPD on a sideshow-detection feature, added to existing cameras, that alerts police to the sound of screeching tires. (WMC Action News 5, Oct. 28, 2024)
  4. June 24, 2025 The City Council took up an administration resolution supporting MPD's purchase and installation of plate readers on state highway rights of way. It was approved in committee, and The Daily Memphian reported that the council passed it the same day. Chief C.J. Davis said the first phase would be 94 readers at interstate entrance and exit ramps, and that the cameras cannot read paper tags. Readers on state routes need TDOT permission. (City of Memphis, June 24, 2025; WMC Action News 5 (via KAIT), June 24, 2025; The Daily Memphian, June 24, 2025; FOX13 Memphis, June 24, 2025)
  5. Aug. 2026 Deputy Chief Brown said all camera use is audited, searches require mandatory fields, and employees who misuse the technology will be fired. (WMC Action News 5, Aug. 20, 2026)
  6. Aug. 11, 2026 Speaking to the Memphis Rotary Club, Chief Davis said MPD is using Flock cameras. Deputy Chief Andrew Brown said MPD audits camera use regularly. (WMC Action News 5, Aug. 11, 2026)
  7. Oct. 28, 2026 The agency is listed as 'Memphis TN PD' among the agencies with access on the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Flock transparency portal (date viewed). (Flock Safety (for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office), Oct. 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Memphis appears as 'Memphis TN PD' in the list of agencies on the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Flock transparency portal (viewed Oct. 28, 2026), and MPD and the sheriff's office can access each other's camera systems (Commercial Appeal, Feb. 2024).
  • MPD's other camera programs are separate from its plate readers: SkyCop pole cameras (video, part of Blue Crush since 2007), the Real Time Crime Center, the Downtown Command Center, and Connect Memphis, a registry and integration program for private cameras. FOX13 (2023) described SkyCop as video, not Flock plate readers.
  • Rotary Club talk: the article, published Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, says it was that Tuesday. Deputy Chief Brown's quoted policy statement is undated (article of Aug. 20, 2026), so only the month is used. 2009 news conference: the article says it was on a Monday; month used.
  • Did not find a Memphis City Council vote on a Flock contract, or any contract amount. MPD did not tell the Memphis Flyer its costs. It is unknown whether the 94 interstate readers were installed.
  • Daily Memphian (paywalled) does not give the vote count on the June 24, 2025 resolution.

From agency records.

Shelby County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
178
178 'LPR or other cameras' listed on the sheriff's Flock transparency portal, as reported by the Memphis Flyer in August 2026. FOX13 reported about 130 SCSO-owned Flock cameras in late 2023, and the program began with a 45-camera pilot.
  1. 2018 The sheriff's office began using Flock plate readers after a pilot with 45 cameras. (Memphis Flyer, Aug. 19, 2026; Flock Safety, April 1, 2021)
  2. Nov. 2023 Lt. Jason Valentine told FOX13 that SCSO owns and runs about 130 Flock cameras and can reach roughly 1,520 cameras in the Tri-State area. He said users must be certified and must enter a reason for each search. He also said SCSO was updating a public transparency page and would keep its camera locations private. (FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 21, 2023)
  3. Aug. 2026 The sheriff's Flock transparency portal listed 178 cameras, a 30-day retention period and 905,225 plates read in the previous 30 days, according to the Memphis Flyer. (Memphis Flyer, Aug. 19, 2026)
  4. Sept. 3, 2026 SCSO Lt. Mickey Keaton told the Lakeland Board of Commissioners that the Flock cameras have helped solve cases and find missing people. (The Daily Memphian, Sept. 5, 2026)
  5. Oct. 28, 2026 The sheriff's Flock transparency portal lists the agencies with access to its data. They include police and sheriff's agencies in many states, ATF Nashville, the National Park Service (TN) and Tennessee Valley Authority Police. FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service entries are marked deactivated. (Flock Safety (for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office), Oct. 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Data sharing: the sheriff's Flock transparency portal (viewed Oct. 28, 2026) lists the agencies that can access its data. They are police and sheriff's agencies in many states, plus ATF Nashville, the National Park Service (TN) and Tennessee Valley Authority Police. Entries for the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are marked deactivated. The portal text that was readable showed only this list, not the stats.
  • The 2018 start date and 45-camera pilot come from a Flock Safety customer story (cited only for this plain fact) and are repeated by the Memphis Flyer.
  • FOX13 article date (Nov. 21, 2023) is taken from the timestamp in its URL ID; the page shows no date.

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.