Mayor Dickens Will Announce Legislation to Establish Permanent Citywide Standards for Public Safety Camera Technology

Mayor Dickens Will Announce Legislation to Establish Permanent Citywide Standards for Public Safety Camera Technology

ATLANTA-Mayor Andre Dickens will work with the Atlanta City Council to introduce legislation at the September 22, 2026, Council meeting to codify and strengthen the City of Atlanta's existing privacy, oversight and accountability standards governing the use of license plate readers and other public safety camera technology.

The proposed legislation would build on the existing safeguards established by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and create a permanent, citywide framework for the responsible use of public safety cameras and other technologies. The Dickens Administration will request an Atlanta City Council work session and public hearing and will work with council members toward approving the legislation within 60 days of its introduction.

"Technology that gives government extraordinary capabilities must come with extraordinary accountability," said Mayor Dickens. "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. Atlanta will have both: effective public safety technology governed by clear rules, meaningful oversight and consequences when those rules are violated."

The draft legislation follows a request by Mayor Dickens for APD to audit 115,578 Flock license plate reader searches conducted this year. APD flagged approximately 0.07 percent of the audited search activity for additional investigation to determine whether any search deviated from policy or training requirements. An inquiry flagged for additional review is not a confirmed violation.

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said he expects the investigation into the flagged search activity to be completed within 60 days. Any appropriate corrective or administrative actions will be determined following the investigation.

Since the initial audit finding, APD has proactively revised its license plate recognition policy in its standard operating procedures and taken several immediate steps to strengthen compliance and accountability. Those actions include:

• More clearly defining when and how license plate recognition systems may be used for authorized law enforcement purposes;
• Strengthening privacy protections and expressly identifying prohibited uses;
• Clarifying each employee's responsibility to comply with departmental policy and Georgia law;
• Establishing monthly audits of system usage;
• Providing updated and refresher training;
• Restricting access by outside law enforcement agencies and requiring related inquiries to go through authorized APD task force officers;
• Restricting access to retired reserve login accounts; and
• Reinforcing the potential administrative and criminal consequences of misuse.

"Transparency, accountability and public trust remain central to this process," said APD Chief Darin Schierbaum. "APD is committed to ensuring license plate recognition technology is used responsibly, appropriately and solely for legitimate law enforcement purposes. We will continue to evaluate our policies, training and safeguards and make improvements when necessary to maintain the confidence of the communities we serve."

PROPOSED CITYWIDE LEGISLATION

The legislation proposed by Mayor Dickens would establish permanent standards for public safety camera technologies across City government while preserving the ability of APD and other City departments to use those tools for legitimate public safety and governmental purposes.

The proposal addresses 10 core areas:

• Citywide standards. Establish consistent rules governing covered technology used or accessed by City departments.
• Written use policies. Require clear policies identifying authorized and prohibited uses, eligible users, training requirements, and accountability procedures.
• Access controls. Codify who may access covered systems, under what circumstances, and for what authorized purposes.
• Data governance. Establish standards governing the collection, protection, retention, deletion, and sharing of data generated or accessed through covered technology.
• Mandatory audits. Codify monthly internal audits for high-risk law enforcement systems and require quarterly public reporting on audit activity, summary findings, and corrective actions, consistent with applicable law and the protection of sensitive information.
• Independent oversight. Require an annual independent compliance review of high-risk technologies covered by the legislation.
• Vendor accountability. Require contracts with Flock and other covered technology vendors to incorporate the City's privacy, security, access, retention, and data-sharing standards and subject vendor compliance to annual review.
• Review and justification of new technology. Establish an enhanced review process before the City deploys new or materially changed high-risk capabilities.
• Public transparency. Create a public inventory of covered technologies, subject to appropriate public safety and cybersecurity safeguards-and require annual reporting on their use, oversight, and compliance.
• Temporary deployment safeguards. Ensure technology introduced for an emergency or major event does not become permanent without additional review and authorization.

The legislation would also explicitly prohibit discriminatory or viewpoint-based use of covered technology and prohibit the use of City systems or data for personal, commercial, or other unauthorized purposes.

PUBLIC AND COUNCIL REVIEW

Following introduction, the Administration will ask the Atlanta City Council to conduct a public review of the proposal. The Administration's requested process would include:

A City Council work session to review the legislation's operational, legal, and technological provisions;

A public hearing to receive input from residents, civil rights organizations, public safety professionals, privacy experts,and other stakeholders;

Council committee consideration and an opportunity for any necessary amendments; and

A goal of final Council consideration within 60 days of introduction.

"Public safety and personal privacy are not competing values," said Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks. "Atlanta can protect both. Our goal is to give public safety professionals the tools they need while ensuring those tools are used lawfully, transparently and only for authorized purposes."

The proposed legislation reflects the City's broader commitment to responsible innovation, constitutional policing, and transparent government. It would build on APD's immediate actions while establishing durable safeguards designed to remain in place across technologies, departments and Administrations.