My name is Ryker Wolf, and I’m writing as a concerned Tullahoma resident about the city’s growing use of Flock Safety cameras. These systems are marketed as crime-fighting tools, but their real impact reaches far beyond public safety — into the daily privacy of every driver in town.

Flock Safety, a private company, provides automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to cities nationwide. The cameras photograph every passing vehicle, recording license plates, timestamps, and vehicle details such as make and color. If a plate matches one on a “hot list,” police are alerted. But these cameras don’t just capture suspects — they record everyone.

Every resident, visitor, and delivery driver is logged as they move through Tullahoma. Over time, this data can reveal patterns of movement and personal routines. Although local police control access and set data retention (often 30 days), the system itself is managed by a private vendor that isn’t subject to the transparency required of public agencies. That raises real questions about security, sharing, and long-term use.

Imagine if the city proposed putting GPS trackers on every car. We’d call it unconstitutional. Yet a network of Flock cameras can approximate that effect — mapping where we go and when. Once that infrastructure exists, limiting it becomes nearly impossible.

Communities across the country have voiced the same concerns, and civil liberties groups like the ACLU warn that license plate readers can be misused to monitor protests or track innocent people.

Safety and privacy can coexist, but only with strong safeguards: strict data limits, clear oversight, and full transparency. Without those protections, these cameras risk eroding the freedoms that define Tullahoma.

Let’s not trade our privacy for a fleeting sense of security.

Ryker Wolf

Tullahoma