21 Sheriff’s Office Cameras Inside a Larger Network

The Blount County Sheriff’s Office’s original 2020 proposal sought nine stationary Flock Safety license plate readers. Flock Safety’s BCSO transparency portal, last updated October 10, 2026, now reports 21 total cameras, all 21 identified as LPR cameras: twelve more than the original proposal.

The same portal shows that BCSO’s reach extends well beyond its own cameras. It states that BCSO can search 16 cameras operated by the City of Maryville and 14 cameras operated by the City of Alcoa, and that 10 private entities, including businesses, HOAs, neighborhoods, and private schools, share their cameras with BCSO. Together, that is 51 government cameras plus an undisclosed number of private ones.

Maryville’s July 2026 network audit shows that access in use. That month, the Sheriff’s Office account ran 1,193 searches that included Maryville’s cameras, and a separate Blount County E-911 account ran 305.

Source: Flock Safety, Blount County TN SO Transparency Portal, last updated October 10, 2026; captured by MaryvillePrivacy.org on October 10, 2026.

Where the Sheriff’s Office Cameras Are

MaryvillePrivacy.org’s camera inventory, compiled from a December 2025 camera-location dataset, classifies 22 source records to the Sheriff’s Office at 21 working locations. Two records sit at the same spot: US 411 South at the county line, where a Flock Falcon and a Flock Falcon Highway are both listed. BCSO’s portal separately reports 21 LPR cameras.

Inventory records are a December 2025 historical snapshot. “Record created” dates come from the source system and are not installation dates. BCSO attribution remains a working classification.

Who Searches the Networks Around Blount County

Flock logs every search that includes an agency’s camera network in that agency’s network audit. MaryvillePrivacy.org obtained the July 2026 network audits for Maryville and Alcoa, the two city networks BCSO says it can search. BCSO’s own network audit is not public.

Alcoa’s production filtered out searches by Tennessee agencies, so its totals cover out-of-state and federal accounts only. Maryville’s production included Tennessee agencies.

Blount County Accounts in Maryville’s Audit

BCSO’s portal states that it can search Maryville’s 16 cameras. Maryville’s July 2026 network audit shows two Blount County accounts did so that month.

The Sheriff’s Office account averaged about 38 searches a day across the month. Nearly all searches that reached Maryville’s cameras came from outside Blount County.

Source: Flock Safety network audit for Maryville TN PD, July 2026, obtained from the City of Maryville through a Tennessee Public Records Act request and analyzed offline by MaryvillePrivacy.org. Times are Eastern.

What the Sheriff’s Office Publishes

BCSO publishes a Flock Safety transparency portal. It states that the agency’s use of the system is governed by BCSO General Order 2.17.10 and Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-302, links the general order, and reports usage statistics for the last 30 days. No comparable public portal for the Alcoa Police Department has been located.

Source: Flock Safety, Blount County TN SO Transparency Portal. Figures are as displayed on October 10, 2026 and change daily.

What the Portal Says, and What the Record Shows

The portal combines BCSO’s own statements with vendor-written “Myth vs. Fact” text. Several statements are accurate as far as they go but leave out what other records show.

Sources: BCSO Transparency Portal; Who Is Searching Blount County?; Flock’s Multi-Geo and Convoy Tools; Sen. Wyden press release, November 3, 2025.

What the Contract Text Allows Flock to Do With the Data

The portal answers the question “What does the contract between BCSO and Flock Safety say, specifically, about the data collected by Flock Cameras?” by quoting three clauses. Section 4.3 governs what happens to the data beyond BCSO’s own use.

Sources: BCSO Transparency Portal, “More Info”; de Montjoye et al., “Unique in the Crowd: The privacy bounds of human mobility,” Scientific Reports 3, 1376 (2013).

Public Record: BCSO Flock ALPR Procurement, 2020

• August 2020: BCSO sought nine stationary Flock Safety license plate readers, according to a project description submitted to the Blount County Commission.
• Funding source: Project Safe Neighborhood East Tennessee, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative. The total grant request for purchase, installation, maintenance, and operating costs was $47,250.
• NCIC integration: the proposed system would compare scans against National Crime Information Center hot sheets that the project description said were “updated every 24 hours.”
• The regional-hub plan: after installation, BCSO said it would request data from Oak Ridge, Maryville, Alcoa, Lenoir City, and other local agencies using the system.
• The county project description stated: “This will allow for local access to a much larger grid and promotes interoperability.”
• Personnel appearing in the record: the project description was authored by Shankle of BCSO. Public Information Officer Marian O’Briant responded regarding camera placement. Then-Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp told the Daily Times that Alcoa and the county had been looking at the system since Maryville obtained it.

BCSO COUNTY ALPR  (2020 plan)
│
├── 9 Flock cameras proposed
├── NCIC hot-sheet sync (24 hours)
│
▼
"A MUCH LARGER GRID"
│
└── request data from:
    ├── Oak Ridge
    ├── Maryville
    ├── Alcoa
    ├── Lenoir City
    └── other local agencies
        │
        ▼
    REGIONAL INTEROPERABILITY

Sources: The Daily Times, “BCSO looking to get stationary license plate readers” (August 2020) ; Flock Safety, Blount County Sheriff’s Office Transparency Portal .

The Blount County Commission and the County’s ALPR Program

The following is the Blount County Commission for the 2026 to 2030 term, based on Blount County’s September 2026 announcement identifying the officials sworn into office.

Executive and program officials

• James Lee Berrong, Blount County Sheriff. The ALPR program operates through the Sheriff’s Office, and the original 2020 Flock project proposal occurred during his administration.
• Jared Anderson, Blount County Mayor. Anderson took office as County Mayor on September 1, 2026.

Who approved the original program?

The current 2026 to 2030 Commission should not automatically be attributed with decisions made by previous commissions. The 2018 to 2022 County Commission was serving when BCSO presented its original nine-camera proposal in 2020.

Determining exactly who approved the original grant, subsequent renewals, and the expansion from nine proposed cameras to the 21 cameras currently reported by Flock requires the corresponding agendas, meeting minutes, grant resolutions, contracts, budget records, and recorded votes.

Sources: Blount County Commission ; Blount County Commission structure ; Blount County’s September 2026 announcement identifying newly sworn county officials.

Requesting BCSO Records: Denial and State Open Records Guidance

Tennessee law gives citizens the right to request public records, including by email when an agency uses email for official business. In September 2026, MaryvillePrivacy.org tested that process with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. BCSO received the request form and Tennessee photo identification, but later denied the request because the driver’s license had been partially redacted.

The dispute was then presented to the Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel. On September 11, 2026, Open Records Counsel provided written guidance directly to BCSO stating that if the requester’s name, address, and expiration date are visible, the identification is sufficient to establish Tennessee citizenship and “the request should be processed.”

BCSO PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
│
├── SEPT. 4
│   ├── Request form submitted by email
│   ├── Tennessee driver's license provided
│   ├── License number redacted for privacy
│   └── Name, photo + Tennessee address remained visible
│
├── BCSO RECORDS / ADMIN
│   ├── Received the request
│   ├── Confirmed receipt of the ID
│   └── Forwarded the request for processing
│
├── SEPT. 8 AND 9
│   ├── BCSO rejects the redacted ID
│   ├── Says identification cannot be
│   │   "altered from its original form"
│   └── Formally denies the records request
│
├── OPEN RECORDS COUNSEL
│   ├── Dispute presented to Tennessee OORC
│   └── SEPT. 11: OORC sends guidance to BCSO
│
└── OORC POSITION
    ├── Name must be visible
    ├── Address must be visible
    ├── Expiration date must be visible
    └── If so, ID is sufficient and
        "the request should be processed"

State Open Records Guidance

Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel

What Does a Redacted ID Look Like?

Example: Tennessee Sample Driver License

This Tennessee sample driver license illustrates how selected information can be obscured while other identifying information remains visible.

Illustrative example only: this sample is not the identification submitted to BCSO.

September 11, 2026: After reviewing the dispute, the Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel sent written guidance directly to BCSO.

Open Records Counsel stated that if the requester’s name, address, and expiration date are visible, its position is that the identification is “sufficient to establish Tennessee citizenship and the request should be processed.”

Check an ID photo before sending it

If you choose to send identification electronically, check the image for hidden GPS, device, date, camera, and other embedded metadata. The tool below analyzes the photo locally in your browser and does not upload it to MaryvillePrivacy.org.

Sources: BCSO September 2026 public-records correspondence and denial response; Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel September 2026 correspondence; Blount County Records Management ; Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 ; Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel .

What the Public Record Does Not Yet Explain

Records still worth requesting from the Blount County Sheriff’s Office:

• BCSO’s Flock network audit, showing every agency search that included BCSO’s cameras
• BCSO’s user audit log, including the search reasons and case numbers the portal describes
• The list of agencies BCSO shares data with, in both directions
• The 10 private entities sharing cameras with BCSO, with camera counts and locations
• The signed Flock agreement, order forms, renewals, and any data processing or anonymization addendum
• The administering agency, users, and governing policy for the Blount County TN E-911 Flock account
• A definition of the portal’s “search session,” and BCSO’s monthly search totals
• From the City of Alcoa: the July 2026 network audit with Tennessee agency searches included, which its production filtered out
• A current BCSO camera list, to reconcile the 22 inventory records with the portal’s 21
• Results of the random audits described in General Order 2.17.10
• The number and categories of locally created hotlist entries
• Agendas, minutes, budget lines, and votes for each expansion beyond the 2020 proposal

This investigation will be updated as additional public records become available. Where the underlying record has not yet been established, this page does not attribute a particular decision, approval, or vote to an individual official.

Flock Pitched a Regional Drone Program Including Blount County

• Tennessee public records show Flock Safety pitched a regional drone as first responder program involving Maryville, Alcoa, Blount County, and the Blount County 911 Center.
• The estimated regional program cost was $300,000 to $600,000 per year.
• The proposal shows how an ALPR network can become the foundation for a broader surveillance system involving cameras, vehicle tracking, real-time intelligence software, and police drones.

Full investigation: Inside Maryville’s Flock AI Drone Program →

Documented Camera Locations

For exact coordinates and Flock IDs, see the 55-record camera inventory on the Maryville Flock Camera Map.