Mayor Demands Halt to Unregulated Flock Camera Rollout

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has demanded an immediate nationwide halt on the rollout of Flock surveillance cameras during a segment called The Sunday Briefing. He warned that these devices trigger serious constitutional and safety alarms while lacking essential protections for citizens. Jacobs acknowledged that police need effective tools to solve crimes, but he insists current Flock models differ fundamentally from older license plate readers. These newer systems require strict guardrails and fresh regulations before any broad deployment occurs.

"This is not about depriving [law enforcement] of the tools. It's about figuring out how these tools can be used in an appropriate manner that is consistent with the Constitution," Jacobs stated while citing dozens of documented abuse cases. He noted there is absolutely no federal law governing Flock cameras today. Tennessee statutes on license plate readers stem from 2014, with only a minor update in 2021. Technology has surged forward since those dates were set. Law enforcement must have necessary resources, yet every tool must obey the Constitution.

Flock Safety stands as one of the biggest vendors for automated license plate readers across America. Their popularity has skyrocketed among police departments, local governments, and private companies over recent years. The ACLU estimates between 80,000 and 100,000 Flock cameras now operate nationwide. Marketing materials from Flock claim presence in more than 6,000 communities while working with over 1,000 businesses and more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies. This massive network results in billions of vehicle scans every single month.

Flock told Fox News that collected data gets automatically deleted after thirty days by default unless an agency sets a different retention period. Jacobs called this surveillance system notoriously erroneous as debate grows across the nation. Even West Virginia lawmakers from the Freedom Caucus are seeking to ban these AI-powered cameras statewide. They argue such technology violates citizens Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Fox News Digital's Kerri Kupec Urbahn contributed to this report on the unfolding story.