What is your position on a traffic-safety grant that could allow the purchase of automated license-plate readers?
This is an issue I have already spent a considerable amount of time looking at. My understanding is that Signal Mountain does not currently operate ALPRs, and I have been consistent about being cautious when it comes to expanding this type of surveillance technology.
I recently wrote an op-ed specifically about automated license-plate readers and the balance between public safety and individual privacy. My position is that ALPRs can have legitimate law-enforcement value, but the collection, retention, sharing, and potential misuse of location data deserve serious scrutiny. Public safety and privacy should not be treated as opposing values.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has also recently discussed the legal and privacy questions surrounding license-plate-reader systems, including both their usefulness in serious criminal investigations and the potential for misuse or government overreach. I have also had conversations with state representatives who are working on this issue at the state level.
As for this particular grant, I think it is important to understand exactly what it allows and what is actually intended to be done with it. The fact that a grant allows money to be spent on ALPRs does not necessarily mean ALPRs have to be purchased or deployed. There may be other eligible traffic-safety uses for those funds.
My approach is to understand the grant in detail and, if it is accepted, make sure Council provides clear expectations to Town staff about how those funds may and may not be used. I support improving traffic safety, but the availability of grant funding alone is not a sufficient reason to adopt technology that raises broader privacy concerns.