PETITION FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, PRIVACY, AND LIMITS ON AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER AND MASS-SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY

 

TO THE MONROE COUNTY COMMISSION, THE CITY GOVERNMENTS OF SWEETWATER, MADISONVILLE, VONORE, AND TELLICO PLAINS, TENNESSEE, AND ALL OTHER APPROPRIATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES:

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED CITIZENS OF MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE, INCLUDING THE COMMUNITIES OF SWEETWATER, MADISONVILLE, VONORE, AND TELLICO PLAINS, PETITION OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, PRIVACY, AND LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE BY ESTABLISHING STRICT LIMITS ON THE DEPLOYMENT AND USE OF FLOCK SAFETY, AXON, AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER ("ALPR"), AND SIMILAR NETWORKED SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES.

I. CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS

WHEREAS, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..."
WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances;

WHEREAS, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects liberty interests and requires constitutional protections to be respected by state and local governments;

WHEREAS, Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee provides protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and declares that the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions;

WHEREAS, Article I, Section 19 of the Tennessee Constitution protects freedom of speech and the right of the people to freely communicate their thoughts and opinions;

WHEREAS, Article I, Section 23 of the Tennessee Constitution recognizes the right of the people to assemble together for their common good and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances;

WHEREAS, the right to travel freely, associate with others, attend religious services, participate in political activity, seek medical care, visit family, and otherwise engage in lawful activities are fundamental aspects of life in a free society;

WHEREAS, modern automated license plate reader and networked camera systems can create persistent records containing license plate numbers, photographs, dates, times, and location information associated with vehicles traveling through monitored areas;

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that prolonged government collection and aggregation of location information can implicate significant Fourth Amendment privacy interests;

WHEREAS, in United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012), the Supreme Court addressed Fourth Amendment concerns arising from government tracking of a person's movements;

WHEREAS, in Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), the Supreme Court held that individuals maintain a legitimate expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements over time and that the government's acquisition of extensive historical location information may constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment;

WHEREAS, these decisions demonstrate that technological advances in government surveillance may raise constitutional questions that cannot be resolved solely by asserting that information was observed in a public place;

WHEREAS, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Tennessee, has likewise recognized that the government's aggregation and use of technological data may raise Fourth Amendment concerns depending upon the nature, duration, and circumstances of the surveillance;

II. TENNESSEE STATUTORY SAFEGUARDS

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-302 specifically regulates automated license plate recognition systems and defines "captured plate data" to include, among other information, GPS coordinates, date and time, photographs, license plate numbers, and other data captured by or derived from an automated license plate recognition system;

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-302 provides that captured plate data collected or retained by a governmental entity through an automated license plate recognition system may not be stored for more than ninety (90) days unless the data is retained as part of an ongoing investigation, subject to the statutory requirements governing destruction of the data following the investigation or criminal action;

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-504(a) provides statutory confidentiality protections for captured plate data from automatic license plate reader systems;

WHEREAS, the Tennessee General Assembly in 2026 removed the previously scheduled expiration of the confidentiality provision concerning captured plate data, thereby continuing the statutory protection of such data as confidential and not open for public inspection;

WHEREAS, the existence of these statutory safeguards demonstrates that the State of Tennessee has recognized the unique privacy and governmental-access concerns associated with automated license plate reader data;

WHEREAS, local governments should not interpret statutory minimum protections as a prohibition against adopting stronger protections for the privacy and constitutional rights of their residents, to the extent permitted by Tennessee law;

III. PUBLIC TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY

WHEREAS, surveillance systems operated by or on behalf of governmental entities may involve the collection of information concerning individuals who are not suspected of committing any crime;

WHEREAS, residents may have legitimate concerns regarding the retention, access, sharing, transfer, security, and secondary use of information collected by automated license plate readers and networked surveillance systems;

WHEREAS, private vendors may operate or provide technology used by governmental entities, creating legitimate questions concerning data ownership, data custody, contractual access, cybersecurity, data retention, and third-party sharing;

WHEREAS, the people of Monroe County have a right to know what surveillance technology is being deployed in their communities, what information is being collected, how long it is retained, who may access it, and under what legal authority it may be searched or shared;

WHEREAS, public safety and constitutional liberty are not mutually exclusive principles;

WHEREAS, effective law enforcement can be achieved while respecting the constitutional rights and privacy interests of law-abiding citizens;

THEREFORE, WE THE UNDERSIGNED PETITIONERS RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT:

1. A MORATORIUM BE PLACED ON NEW SURVEILLANCE CAMERA DEPLOYMENTS
The Monroe County Commission and the governing bodies of Sweetwater, Madisonville, Vonore, and Tellico Plains should establish a moratorium on the installation or expansion of new Flock Safety, Axon ALPR, or substantially similar automated surveillance systems until a full public review has been completed.

2. ALL EXISTING SYSTEMS BE SUBJECT TO PUBLIC REVIEW
Local governments and law enforcement agencies should conduct and publicly disclose an inventory of all automated license plate readers, Flock cameras, Axon cameras, and substantially similar surveillance technologies currently operating within their jurisdiction.

3. ALL CONTRACTS AND POLICIES BE MADE AVAILABLE
All contracts, memoranda of understanding, vendor agreements, data-sharing agreements, privacy policies, retention policies, and applicable law-enforcement policies governing these systems should be made available for public inspection to the fullest extent permitted by law.

4. DATA COLLECTION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO LEGITIMATE LAW-ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES
Surveillance technology should not be used to indiscriminately monitor, track, or reconstruct the movements of law-abiding citizens absent a legitimate law-enforcement purpose and appropriate legal authority.

5. ACCESS TO HISTORICAL LOCATION INFORMATION SHOULD REQUIRE APPROPRIATE LEGAL PROCESS
To the maximum extent permitted by law, access to historical location information capable of revealing patterns of an individual's or vehicle's movements should require a warrant or other judicial authorization when required by the Fourth Amendment, Tennessee Constitution, or applicable law.

6. DATA RETENTION SHALL COMPLY WITH TENNESSEE LAW
All local governmental entities shall strictly comply with Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-302 and all other applicable Tennessee laws governing the retention, destruction, confidentiality, and disclosure of automated license plate reader data.

7. NO UNAUTHORIZED OR UNNECESSARY DATA SHARING
Surveillance data collected by or for local governmental entities should not be shared with outside agencies, private entities, or other governmental bodies except where authorized by law and consistent with constitutional protections and clearly established public policy.

8. PROTECT AGAINST MISSION CREEP
Surveillance technology acquired for a specific public-safety purpose should not be expanded into broader tracking, intelligence, or monitoring programs without public notice, appropriate legal review, and approval by the governing body with jurisdiction.

9. REQUIRE TRANSPARENCY BEFORE TAXPAYER FUNDS ARE SPENT
No local governmental entity should enter into or renew a contract for mass-surveillance or automated license plate reader technology without public disclosure of the cost, funding source, contract terms, data practices, and legal policies governing the technology.

10. REQUIRE REGULAR AUDITS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Local governments should require regular audits documenting:
Who has accessed surveillance data;
The purpose for each access;
Whether access was supported by a criminal investigation or other lawful purpose;
Whether data was shared with outside agencies;
How long data was retained;
Whether required data destruction occurred; and
Whether any unauthorized access or misuse was discovered.

11. PROTECT FIRST AMENDMENT AND TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
Surveillance technology should never be used to target, monitor, intimidate, or create records concerning individuals based solely on their lawful exercise of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, peaceful assembly, political activity, or the right to petition government.

12. RESPECT THE PRINCIPLE THAT INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE NOT SUSPECTS
The routine collection of information about the movements of ordinary citizens should not become normalized simply because modern technology makes such collection possible.
The citizens of Monroe County should not be required to surrender meaningful privacy in their daily movements as the price of living in a free society.

OUR POSITION

We recognize the legitimate responsibility of law enforcement to investigate crime, protect victims, locate dangerous suspects, recover stolen property, and protect the public.

We also recognize that the Constitution places limits on governmental power—even when government acts with good intentions.

We therefore call upon our local elected officials and law enforcement leaders to pursue public safety while respecting the constitutional principles that define our nation and our State.

The Fourth Amendment was written to protect people from unreasonable government intrusion.

The Tennessee Constitution protects the people of this State from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The First Amendment protects the freedom to speak, assemble, associate, worship, and petition our government.
Technology should not be permitted to erode constitutional liberties simply because the technology did not exist when those protections were written.

We believe that public safety and personal liberty can and must coexist.

We believe that law-abiding citizens should not be treated as suspects simply because they travel on public roads.

We believe that government surveillance must remain subject to constitutional limits, statutory safeguards, transparency, accountability, and democratic oversight.

We therefore respectfully petition the Monroe County Commission and the governing authorities of Sweetwater, Madisonville, Vonore, and Tellico Plains to take immediate action to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of the people they serve.

REQUESTED ACTION

We respectfully request that the appropriate governing bodies:

☐ Reject the installation of new Flock Safety, Axon ALPR, or substantially similar mass-surveillance systems;

☐ Place a moratorium on the expansion of existing systems;

☐ Conduct a public review of all existing surveillance contracts and policies;

☐ Require strict compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-302 and all applicable privacy and public-records laws;

☐ Adopt stronger local privacy protections to the fullest extent permitted by law;

☐ Require public hearings before any future surveillance technology is purchased, installed, expanded, or renewed;

☐ Establish meaningful oversight, auditing, and accountability requirements; and

☐ Protect the constitutional rights and privacy of the people of Monroe County, Tennessee.

LEGAL AUTHORITIES REFERENCED
United States Constitution
First Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment
Tennessee Constitution
Article I, § 7 — Search and seizure
Article I, § 19 — Freedom of speech and press
Article I, § 23 — Right to assemble and petition government
Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302 — Automated license plate recognition systems; limitations on storage of captured plate data
Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a) — Confidentiality of captured plate data from automatic license plate reader systems
United States Supreme Court
United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012)
Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018)