The civilian-run board that supervises Nashville’s police department says it does not want the city to expand its use of license plate readers.
The technology has sparked heated debates in the past year. Some say they could help police investigate crimes. Others worry they could violate people’s civil liberties — particularly people of color.
Community Oversight Board member Phyllis Hildreth says she can’t get past her fears of license plate readers, as a Black woman.
“Nothing outweighs my concern about the safety of the members of my community and my family who share my history, my culture, my phenotype, my skin color, my build,” she said at a board meeting Monday evening. “Nothing would dissuade me to believe that LPR’s are a good thing right now.”
The Metro Council has considered several bills to broaden the use of license plate readers.
A few have been withdrawn or indefinitely deferred, but one is up for second reading Tuesday night. That bill would allow police and other Metro departments to use license plate readers with some limitations.
Government agencies would need to implement privacy policies to limit the collection and sharing of information, and those policies would need to be posted online. The technology would also only be allowed in a restricted set of situations, including to investigate and prosecute felonies, violent crimes, drag racing and car theft.
The bill prohibits the use of license plate readers for general surveillance or to look for minor offenses, like driving with an expired license plate. It also forbids their use for facial recognition.
Only a small number of people would be permitted to access the system, and they would need to be trained. All data would be automatically deleted after 10 days, unless being used as evidence in a criminal or civil case.
Lawmakers filed the legislation in October, after holding multiple community meetings featuring comments from researchers, activists and residents.
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