Vanderbilt poll shows support for MNPD roadside cameras – but what about Fusus?

Yahoo

04-04-2025

There's an appetite among Nashvillians for giving the Metro Nashville Police Department more surveillance tools to solve vehicle-related crimes.
That's according to the results of a Vanderbilt University poll released Friday, focused on issues affecting Nashvillians. The poll surveyed 1,008 people from Nashville and Davidson County between Feb. 21 and March 16.
One survey question asked respondents whether MNPD should be able to use roadside cameras in a couple of different scenarios. A significant majority of respondents, 83%, said they'd support MNPD using roadside cameras to identify vehicles tied to violent crimes, stolen vehicles and missing persons 'if they are tied to strict limitations on use and data protection.'
And 67% said they'd support roadside cameras being used to identify and cite vehicles that speed through active school zones.
Here's what to know about other notable responses to the survey.
The survey calls them roadside cameras, but the question is likely tied to recent community conversations around license plate readers, cameras that capture images of every license plate and vehicle that passes.
It's now been several years since Nashville completed a license plate reader pilot program, which limited law enforcement use in a similar fashion to what's described in the survey. Over that six-month span, the cameras read tens of millions of license plates and resulted in 112 arrests.
Lately, this type of surveillance tool has been a backburner issue in the Metro Nashville Council. Recent council action has instead been focused on police surveillance companies like Fusus, which uses a system of privately owned cameras to collect real-time video footage from nearby crime scenes. The survey didn't ask about Fusus or other police surveillance companies.
After the council narrowly rejected a contract with Fusus in late 2024, it considered and ultimately adopted a bill establishing guardrails for how camera networks like what Fusus utilizes can be used in Davidson County.
Some council members have indicated that more bills on the issue — including similar guardrails for license plate readers and a second pass at a contract with Fusus — will be introduced in the near future, potentially as soon as the group's next meeting.
Last year, almost half of the respondents to Vanderbilt's poll on Nashville issues said they hadn't followed the city's consideration of revitalizing the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
A deal between the Nashville Fair Board and Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate and lease the historic racetrack has been on pause for several years. At the same time, a citizen-led petition effort has sought to amend Nashville's charter to eliminate racing as a required use at the fairgrounds and replace it with affordable housing instead.
This time around, a similarly sized group of 42% of respondents said they hadn't heard enough about the issue to form an opinion. Outside of that group, only 18% of respondents said they wanted the city to partner with Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate the track, while 29% said they'd rather the city develop a plan that preserves racing while simultaneously creating affordable housing units.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's approval rating remains high at 67%, though less so compared to last year's survey when it was 71%. Compared to last year, O'Connell's approval has remained about the same among respondents who identified as Democrats and independents, but dropped from 56% to 44% among Republicans.
The other individual official asked about in the survey, Metro Nashville Public Schools Superintendent Adrienne Battle, earned 60% approval, down 6% from last year.
Local governing bodies polled slightly lower. The MNPS Board clocked in at 55% approval, and the Metro Nashville Council at 57% approval.
The MNPD's approval rating comes in at 68%, and the Nashville Fire Department's at 96%.
The survey also asked residents how Nashville should respond locally to one national issue: immigration.
A majority of respondents, 61%, said they'd support deporting individuals who are living in the United States illegally if they have a criminal record unrelated to their immigration status. Only 26% of respondents said the same even if an individual lacks a criminal background.
When it comes the question of whether Nashville should join other cities who've pledged to resist potential efforts by the federal government to deport immigrants who are here illegally, 43% of respondents said they agreed. Meanwhile, 35% said Nashville should 'do nothing and allow the federal government to enforce federal laws,' and 22% said Nashville should actively assist federal deportation efforts.
Asked about what O'Connell's top priorities should be for Nashville, respondents said improving public education (74%), working on problems low-income people face (69%) and making rent more affordable (67%) were the top three responses.
Other priorities respondents flagged include reducing crime (64%), taking steps to ensure the city's long-term financial health (62%), making buying a home in Nashville more affordable (61%), reducing traffic (60%), dealing with homelessness (55%), supporting small and local businesses (49%), and improving public transportation (49%).
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt poll shows support for MNPD roadside cameras