A newly launched advocacy website, crossvilleprivacy.org, is raising alarms over Crossville’s deployment of Flock automated license-plate reader (ALPR) cameras, urging residents to question local candidates on the issue ahead of the November 3 City Council election.

According to the site, Crossville currently operates 10 Flock cameras that automatically scan passing license plates without requiring a warrant or individualized suspicion. City records and invoices list the system at $30,000 annually, with the city paying $25,000 after a credit. However, as of July, critics point out that the city has failed to publish an official written search policy, a public camera map, or monthly detailed use reports.

The campaign highlights broader concerns about privacy and system misuse, pointing to a recent case in Tennessee where a former Oak Ridge officer was sentenced following personal Flock searches, alongside an incident in Morristown involving a vehicle stop at gunpoint due to a plate misread. While proponents pitch the cameras as “extra eyes” for investigations and missing persons alerts, privacy advocates argue that mass capture sweeps up the data of ordinary drivers and operates with minimal transparency.

With the upcoming November 3 election, crossvilleprivacy.org is pushing voters to demand clear commitments from candidates. The initiative asks citizens to press running candidates on whether they will cancel the Flock contract, physically remove the cameras instead of swapping them for another vendor’s equipment like Axon, and enact a complete ban on automated mass-surveillance tools unless approved by a public voter referendum.