Resident raises privacy concerns about automated cameras; police outline audits and retention limits

A resident, Laura Eagle, told the Murphy'sboro City Council during public comment on June 18 that a block-mounted camera was directed at a neighbor's home and said she had seen cases where automated systems produced incorrect results. "AI makes mistakes," Eagle said, and asked "who's auditing queries for these block cameras." The council said staff would note her questions for discussion.

Police and city staff then gave a detailed presentation on the Real-time Crime Center and the technologies it uses. Ryan Lawrence, supervisor of the city's Real-time Crime Center and crime analysis unit, said the center relies on gunshot-detection sensors, public-safety cameras and license-plate readers to support officers and investigations. "The only thing that we ever receive on the end user side is that 5-second snippet of gunfire," Lawrence said, describing how the gunshot-detection system provides short audio clips and a limited response zone rather than continuous audio.

Lawrence said the city caps recorded retention at 30 days even though state law allows up to 90 days and that searches of license-plate-reader data require a valid search reason and are retained and audited. "That data is automatically permanently deleted after 30 days," he said. He described restricted access: eight authorized city users can search the systems, and Lawrence said human verification is required for hot-list alerts before enforcement action.

Chief Owen answered a public question about internal oversight: "I don't go check Ryan's books, but there is a level of trust that's given to Ryan," the chief said, adding that the department enforces policies and procedures and that the chief would have to go through staff to access data. The chief and Lawrence emphasized auditing controls and said system access and searches are auditable.

Police officials cited recent operational results that they say show the systems' value. Lawrence reported 652 operational "successes" in the first quarter of 2026 and described several cases where cameras and license-plate readers helped identify suspect vehicles, locate stolen property and led to arrests.

After the presentation, the council approved an extension of the Raven gunshot-detection contract with Flock for two additional years (total reported in the presentation as $243,898). Mayor McFarland invited residents with questions to contact department staff directly.

Why it matters: The exchange paired a citizen's privacy concern with a technical presentation and policy clarifications from police. The answers the council and staff gave (30-day retention, limited user access, audit logs, human verification) are the primary safeguards the city cited in response to privacy questions.

What's next: The council approved the Flock contract extension during the meeting; police said they would continue to respond to public questions and that transparency materials are available on the Real-time Crime Center web page.