Town
Hard Numbers from the October 2023 Order Form
- 4 Cameras
- $10k Per Year
- Parks Location
- 30-Day Data Retention
Citizen Information Campaign
UNFLOCK
Thompson's Station
Block Flock. No Warrant, No Watch.
Automatic license plate cameras log everyday drives through Thompson's Station: school pickup, church, the grocery store, and soccer practice. This is mass surveillance of law-abiding citizens on public and residential roads.
That is warrantless logging of ordinary travel, with little public input and no public account of who searches the data, or why.
What's Happening
What These Cameras Capture, and What Is Still Secret.
Automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) photograph passing vehicles and turn the plate into a searchable record. Town cameras are tied to parks where kids play. The October 2023 town order form gives vehicle break-ins at the park as the local rationale.
Across the U.S., Flock Safety alone has said it operates more than 120,000 cameras in over 6,000 communities (company statements, mid-2026). The network grew from thousands of communities to that scale in a few years, often with little public debate before cameras go up. Thompson's Station is part of that buildup: the town contracted for four town cameras in October 2023, and Street View imagery near Tollgate Village and a school entrance shows ALPR-style hardware as early as April 2023 (imagery date, not a confirmed install date). The town order form ties those cameras to vehicle break-ins at the park, where kids play.
Volunteers have mapped at least about 90 automated license plate readers across Williamson County (DeFlock The USA), including about 9 in Thompson's Station (MyTownView). Officials have not published a complete public inventory. The same volunteer count lists 323 readers in Davidson County. We know what we know because neighbors mapped what they can see.
What a Read Includes
Confirmed Flock and town-order-form capabilities include:
- License plate number (full or partial)
- Date, time, and location of the read
- Photograph of the vehicle
- Make, model, color, and body type
- Distinguishing features ("Vehicle Fingerprint" / Vehicle Signature): bumper stickers, roof racks, damage, missing or covered plates, and similar visual traits (per the town Flock order form and Flock product materials)
How Long the Data Can Sit
The town contract sets 30 days of data retention. Tennessee law allows a governmental entity to store ALPR captured plate data for up to 90 days, unless the data is kept for an ongoing investigation (Tenn. Code Ann. §55-10-302). In county meeting coverage, a commissioner cited the vendor's 30-day purge. Sheriff Hughes, in that same WKRN report, said the office does not share outside law enforcement, can approve other law enforcement requests, and said the agency owns the data.
What We Know
County
Crowd Floors Where Mapped. Question Marks Where Officials Have Not Said.
- ≥ 90 Mapped (Crowd)
- ~ 9 In Thompson's Station
- ? Cost
- ? Search Logs
Crowd counts are volunteer floors, not an official inventory. Officials have refused to publish a full location list.
Community Map
This is a community map, not an official inventory. The county has refused to provide locations for public cameras.
Open Deflock Map for Thompson's Station
The embedded map did not load in this browser. Deflock is a third-party community map, not an official inventory. The county has refused to provide locations for public cameras.
Open Deflock Map for Thompson's StationOpen Deflock Map for Thompson's Station Deflock
What a Records Response Will and Will Not Provide
A Williamson County Sheriff's Office response granted some categories and denied others. It did not name a path to a full public account.
Will Provide
- Contracts and MOUs, Except Consent Documents That Reveal Locations
- ALPR General Order
- Written Policies
Will Not Provide
- Complete Location List
- Who Operates Each Camera
- Audit Logs
- Search Logs
- Consent Papers That Reveal Locations
- Install Papers That Reveal Locations
Why
- Locations: Tenn. Code Ann. §10-7-504(i)
- Stated Rationale: Vandalism and Interference
- Logs: §10-7-504(a)(32)
- Logs: §10-7-504(i)
- The Tennessean Case (2014)
This page does not ask anyone to interfere with a camera. It asks for a public account of a system that logs families on public and residential roads.
Why It Matters
Misuse of Records
When everyday travel is logged into searchable records, the risk is not only a future investigation. It is the quiet accumulation of where people go, when, and how often, without a warrant and without a clear public account of who looks. Systems like that put enormous trust in whoever can search the data and for what reason. Where access is broad and oversight is thin, the opportunity for abuse is built in.
Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.
Everyday Routes
Plate readers log vehicles that pass, not only cars tied to a crime. That includes school pickup, church, the grocery store, soccer practice, and parks where kids play. These cameras are not a school system. They sit on roads families already use.
Who Gets the Data
A local read can be searched by the agency that holds it, and by others when lookup is turned on. The town order form lists nationwide plate lookup. Sheriff Hughes told WKRN the office does not share outside law enforcement and can approve other law enforcement requests. Residents still do not see that list.
Institute for Justice ALPR Abuse Collection
The collection documents dozens of romantic-stalking cases and lists 76 incidents as of the September 2026 update. Read the collection.
Take Action
Lawful Questions. Lawful Conversations.
Lawful questions. Lawful conversations. No camera interference.
Who Decides What
- Town. Town cameras in parks, permission for county installs, and renewal, data retention, and sharing.
- County and Sheriff. Contracts, a public account of counts and locations, search logs, and expansion.
- State. Privacy legislation.
- Congress. Federal privacy law and surveillance oversight.
Share Your Thoughts
Town Board
Ask the Town. What is the strategy for town cameras in parks where kids play and on local arterials, and what is the endpoint: renewal, a sunset, shorter data retention, or a public audit of searches before the next term?
- Mayor Brian Stover[email protected]
- Vice Mayor Shaun Alexander[email protected]
- Alderman Bob Whitmer[email protected]
- Alderman Kreis White[email protected]
- Alderman Harry King[email protected]
Sample Email (Edit in Your Own Words)
Subject: Flock cameras: public questions from a Thompson's Station resident Dear Mayor and Aldermen, I live in Thompson's Station. Plate cameras are logging ordinary drives, including roads families use and parks where kids play. The town's October 2023 order form lists four town cameras, $10,000 a year, a $50,450 term, and 30-day data retention. Please put these questions on a public agenda: 1) Which cameras the town operates in parks and on local roads, and which county cameras the town has permitted. 2) The current contract, the renewal date, data retention, and whether plate data is shared beyond the town. 3) A public account of who searches town plate data, how often, and why. 4) The strategy for these cameras, and the endpoint: renewal, a sunset, or tighter limits. Thank you, [Your name] [Your neighborhood]
County, State, and Congress
Ask the County. What is the strategy for how many readers the county runs, where they sit, and who may search them, and what is the endpoint for contracts, counts, locations, search logs, and any expansion?
- County Mayor Andy Marshall [email protected]
- County Commission [email protected]
More Ways to Take Part
- Share unflockts.com with neighbors.
- Tip or correct information: [email protected].
- File your own public records request with the Sheriff's Office or the town.
- Speak in public comment at meetings.
- Help map cameras with Deflock's tools. Lawful observation only.
- Ask an HOA, the school board, or the county commission for an agenda item on ALPR transparency.
Learn More
Town order form ACLU Get the Flock Out ACLU-MA nationwide IJ ALPR misuse DeFlock Williamson Deflock map