As the country becomes increasingly consumed by the debate over Flock cameras, the issue hit the Smoky Mountains as Macon County voted to let its contract with the company lapse.
Flock cameras monitor traffic on public roads, taking a picture of every vehicle as it passes by and then running that information through its database. Law enforcement agencies that use Flock cameras have “hotlists” on which they place vehicles that may have been stolen or are associated with a suspected criminal. Any vehicle on the hotlist is flagged, and an alert is sent to the agency that placed it on the list. They are often used to track vehicles suspected of trafficking narcotics in lieu of using personnel to keep eyes on a suspected drug runner.