Atlanta, Georgia – Atlanta is moving to put permanent guardrails around technology that can track vehicles, support police investigations and generate large amounts of sensitive data. The goal is not to remove those tools, but to spell out exactly who can use them, why they can be used and what happens when the rules are not followed.
The push comes with a striking number attached to it: the Atlanta Police Department audited 115,578 searches made this year through its Flock license plate reader system. About 0.07 percent, 79 searches, were flagged for further review, though city officials stress that being flagged does not mean a policy violation occurred.
Mayor Andre Dickens plans to introduce legislation at the September 21 Atlanta City Council meeting that would establish permanent citywide standards for license plate readers and other public safety camera technology. The administration is also requesting a Council work session and public hearing, with the goal of reaching final consideration within 60 days.
“Technology that gives government extraordinary capabilities must come with extraordinary accountability,” Dickens said.
“Public safety is not a blank check, and neither is privacy an excuse to deny law enforcement tools that can help save lives and solve crimes.”
Under the proposal, City departments would operate under consistent rules covering authorized access, data collection, retention, deletion and sharing. High-risk law enforcement systems would face monthly internal audits, while the City would provide quarterly public reporting and require annual independent compliance reviews. Vendor contracts would also have to meet Atlanta’s privacy, security and data-sharing standards.
The plan would additionally require review before new or significantly changed high-risk technology is deployed and create a public inventory of covered City technologies. Discriminatory, personal, commercial and other unauthorized uses of City systems and data would be prohibited.
APD has already strengthened its own policy through updated training, tighter access controls, clearer authorized-use rules, stronger privacy protections and recurring audits. Police Chief Darin Schierbaum expects the investigation into the 79 flagged searches to be completed within 60 days.
“Transparency, accountability and public trust remain central to this process,” Schierbaum said.
Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks framed the broader proposal simply: “Public safety and personal privacy are not competing values. Atlanta can protect both.”
The Council process and APD investigation will now move forward separately, putting Atlanta’s use of public safety cameras under closer review while city leaders consider making those safeguards permanent.
