The Metro Nashville City Council voted to pass a resolution this week that would allow a full implementation of license plate readers (LPRs) to be installed in the Nashville metro area—the resolution (RS2023-2342) passed by a 24-14-1 vote.
Councilman Jeff Syracuse proposed an amendment to the resolution, which clarifies that two or more votes will need to be taken by the next council before the LPR program is started. In addition, Syracuse’s amendment says if there is any data breach of the technology, the contract with the LPR vendor will be terminated and police must consult with community advisory groups in each precinct to decide where the technology will be placed.
Despite the amendment, Nashville mayoral candidate and Metro Councilman Freddie O’Connell voted against the resolution.
In a candidate forum last month before the general election, O’Connell (pictured above) voiced privacy concerns regarding the LPR technology in Nashville, saying at the time, “I think the thing you got to be careful about is any data that can be persisted can be hacked. You don’t want victims, people with medical and health issues tracked with their movements around the city, and that’s what we need to pay attention to.”
Meanwhile, O’Connell’s opponent in the upcoming runoff election, Alice Rolli, recently voiced support for the program while condemning the current “politicization” of what she says are “basic decisions.”
While speaking at the Republican Party state executive committee meeting in Wilson County, Rolli stated, “And I know that we can take Councilman O’Connell on this message alone: Business owners, if you have a business in Davidson County, or if you come to visit Davidson County, you see the rise in crime, you see what is happening when we don’t let police do their jobs. You see what’s happening when we politicize basic decisions like should we use technology to help police officers with things as simple as license plate readers.”
Happy Saturday, Nashville! Please take 2 minutes to watch this important message from Chief Drake about the use of License Plate Reader technology in our city & an important vote coming up on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/qoYXcQAzqH
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 12, 2023
In the days leading up to this week’s vote on the implementation of the LPR technology, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) released a batch of promotional videos in support of the program.
And this message from Commander Carlos Lara… pic.twitter.com/UIHFQseghP
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 15, 2023
MNPD calls the LPR systems “effective law enforcement tools that can help further criminal investigations to enhance the safety of Nashville’s neighborhoods.”
And this message from Commander Carlos Lara… pic.twitter.com/dUVPVhYbRr
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 14, 2023
The department notes that approximately 90 other law enforcement agencies across the Volunteer State use LPRs to “safeguard their communities.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell. Background Photo “Nashville City Hall” by Nicolas Henderson. CC BY 2.0.
