Latest news with #LPRs
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
LPR funding not included in Nashville Mayor's budget. Metro Council says debate isn't over
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Tuesday night, Metro Council will consider whether to change Mayor Freddie's O'Connell's budget. The changes include a property tax increase, however, it does not have funding for license plate readers. Metro Council approved the permanent use of LPR cameras last year, but after a six-month pilot, the program shut down. The cameras will not return unless a new contract is approved and funded. PREVIOUS | LPRs not listed in Nashville Mayor's proposed budget Some council members have encouraged private businesses and property owners to install their own cameras, as the city has not yet approved its own camera system. A new apartment complex coming to Hamilton Church Road in 2026 plans to include this technology. 'We want to make sure that you feel safe and secure; we want to build strong communities, and as I said, you can't build strong communities without being safe and secure,' said Alex Trent with Trent Development Group. District 32 Metro Councilwoman Joy Styles has encouraged private businesses and properties to install their own LPR technology while the program remains stalled citywide. 'They are working with us on great things like license plate readers being included and a gate being included,' Styles said. 'That is the accountability that we are missing in this whole city.' 'I think the private companies and apartments putting LPRs in place just shows how much Nashville wants and needs this type of technology,' added District 11 Council Member Jeff Eslick. Tennessee police departments share intel, use LPR cameras to track down theft suspect LPR cameras scan license plates and compare them to state and federal databases to help locate stolen vehicles and missing and wanted people. 'For the most part, it is going to help the everyday citizen, the taxpayer out there, live a safer life and feel better when they go to bed,' Eslick said. 'I think if we are going to add all this money to the budget and spend all this money to make people feel better, we should feel safer as well.' Eslick said funding for LPRs may come later. 'I think we are going to have to work out the budget, try to figure out where we are on that, and we can add LPRs,' Eslick told News 2. 'The amount that it costs to put the LPRs in place isn't something outside of what we could pull from something like the 4% fund.' | READ MORE | District 26 Council Member Courtney Johnston told News 2 that LPRs would not be included in her substitute budget proposal, saying in a statement: 'Putting that line item in any substitute would cause that substitute to fail with this council. That said, funding is not the issue. The issue is that we don't have support for LPRs from either the Mayor's office or the majority of the council to approve the contracts.' Eslick added that the conversation is not over. 'I think the budget is going to go through similar to what it is,' he explained. 'In a way, to kind of makeup for it, we will have LPRs on the agenda in the near future. Now, that doesn't mean it's going to pass. It's still going to be a struggle, but if we can just get it before us and start talking about it, I think we can find a way to get the common ground that we need.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Murfreesboro LPR technology helps catch suspect in Henry County homicide case
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — Murfreesboro authorities said license plate recognition technology helped lead to an arrest in a homicide case that stretched more than 100 miles. According to the Henry County Sheriff's Office, hunters discovered a dead woman on the edge of a parking lot along Copper Springs Road in Springville on Saturday, May 10. Officials identified her as 31-year-old Kristiana Shook-Livingston, who was last known to be unhoused in Murfreesboro. Following an investigation by the sheriff's office, the Murfreesboro Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the 24th Judicial District Attorney's office, law enforcement said Mark Odom, 54, of Mansfield was identified as the person responsible for Shook-Livingston's death. Woman's body found in Henry County parking lot, authorities investigating as homicide That's when MPD used LPR technology to track Odom's car to a shelter called The Journey Home. 'Crime data analysts were able to use LPR technology to place that suspect's vehicle at The Journey Home in Murfreesboro, and then its return to West Tennessee,' MPD spokesperson Larry Flowers explained. Flowers said LPRs have made a massive difference in keeping Murfreesboro safe. Man charged with homicide after woman's body found in Henry County parking lot 'In 2024, our LPR technology assisted with solving about 200-plus cases. That includes everything from minor traffic accidents to homicides,' Flowers told News 2. According to officials, Odom was taken into custody on Tuesday, May 13 and charged with criminal homicide. He was booked into the Henry County Jail on a $2.5 million bond. Authorities have yet to release any additional details about this investigation, including whether Odom and Shook-Livingston knew each other. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LPRs not listed in Nashville Mayor's proposed budget
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For the second year in a row, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has not included funding specifically for license plate recognition technology in his proposed budget. Although O'Connell told News 2 he believes there is room in the numbers to include LPRs, not everyone agrees. Two weeks ago, Metro Councilmember for District 26, Courtney Johnston, was eager to see whether O'Connell would fund LPRs in his 2026 budget after no funding for the technology was proposed for the 2025 fiscal year. Highlights from Mayor Freddie O'Connell's State of Metro Address and proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 'That shows you his intent,' Johnston told News 2 on April 18. If he fails to fund, he has no intention of moving forward the contracts.' In his proposed budget, O'Connell set aside $24.7 million dollars for the Metro Nashville Police Department. However, it didn't mention LPRs specifically. O'Connell told News 2 that doesn't necessarily mean the technology is entirely out of the question. 'If we can get our proposed LPR policy framework through the Metro Council, we believe we could fund that initiative,' O'Connell said. 'And I think there would be many different opportunities. You're not going to see a line item in there for it, but I think the capacity is there.' Yet Johnston said she thinks the omission sends a different message. 'The police department asked for $2.8 million in this year's budget in order to fund the LPR program and that is peanuts in a $3.8 billion budget,' Johnston said. 'And I think there's no better way to spend money — taxpayer dollars — than to improve safety.' Johnston added that Metro Council had previously passed an LPR policy. She said the next step is waiting on vendor contracts from the mayor's office. Metro Councilmember for District 32, Joy Styles, was also frustrated to see another year of LPRs not mentioned in the budget. ⏩ 'Representing a district that is majority-minority — I have minority constituents that are begging for it; I have minority business owners that are begging for it,' Styles told News 2. 'To have to explain our mayor is just basically playing games and not valuing what Nashvillians want — it's a horrible place to be put in.' A recent Vanderbilt University poll found more than 80% of Nashville residents polled were for LPRs — as long as there were restrictions on how the data was used. Both Styles and Johnston hope to see amendments to the budget, specifically funding for LPRs, before it passes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Stolen vehicle recovered in Mt. Juliet after driver gives stranger a ride
MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — License plate readers in Mt. Juliet helped authorities recover a vehicle that was stolen last month in Nashville. According to the Mt. Juliet Police Department, LPRs alerted officers Tuesday morning to a stolen vehicle as it came into the city near Central Pike and Pleasant Grove Road. Mt. Juliet leaders adopt safety action plan The vehicle, a Kia Soul, was reportedly stolen in Nashville on March 27 after the owner picked up a stranger, who then stole the car. Officers said the quick alert from LPRs helped them to swiftly locate the Kia as it backed into a parking lot near the BioLife building. A 28-year-old man from Nashville was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Wilson County Jail, police said. No additional details were released about the traffic stop on the man who was arrested as a result of it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will Nashville ever get LPRs again?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville residents have been wondering if and when they'll ever see license plate recognition technology again. Metro completed a six-month pilot program on LPR cameras that ended in July 2023, which resulted in 112 arrests, 130 total felony charges and 14 guns recovered. On Friday morning, Mayor Freddie O'Connell made it seem as though his office was waiting on Metro Council before taking any next steps. Vanderbilt University poll shows Nashvillians favor LPR technology with certain restrictions 'Within weeks of taking office, we started engaging the community to address concerns and we have a policy framework we're ready to run,' O'Connell said. 'I think what you've seen upstairs in the Metro Council is they can't even get to consideration of a resolution asking us to bring LPR policy there.' However, Metro Councilmember for District 26 Courtney Johnston said the council was waiting on the Mayor's Office to bring vendor contracts forward. 'The Council passed a policy around LPRs that we contemplated for quite some time. It passed in 2022. Based off that policy, we did a six-month pilot. That six-month pilot was proven to be very effective. Then the council, last term, at the end of the term that ended in 2023 — we passed the resolution allowing the full implementation of the LPR program,' Johnston said. 'Some of us have been asking for those contracts — certainly the community, overwhelmingly, has been begging us for LPRs. So it's really frustrating for the mayor to try to pawn this off on the council when the council has done everything that we were supposed to do.' A recent Vanderbilt poll showed that 83% of Nashvillians polled were in favor of LPRs, as long as there were strict limitations on use and data protection. ⏩ 'I would say we are ready to bring overall responsible frameworks for a variety of public safety tools to the Metro Council, and we are waiting on them to be ready to introduce them to the community,' O'Connell added. With no money set aside for LPRs in this year's budget, the program's future could be debated in next year's budget. 'We are now coming into the FY 26 budget cycle, so we'll see if he puts it in his budget there,' Johnston said. 'But that shows you his intent. If he fails to fund, he has no intention of moving forward the contracts.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
