WSB and the AJC both have the same core numbers: 115,000 searches this year, 79 sent for investigation, and a mayor asking for legislation rather than another memo.
Some Council members, including Michael J. Bond, say similar bills are already in motion and that the people with this power need to know they are being watched.
License-plate readers are a making-and-governance problem: a vendor camera network plus a search box that is easy to abuse. The useful city output is a written list of forbidden queries and a monthly public audit, not a promise to be careful.
Atlanta police have run about 115,000 Flock license-plate searches so far in 2026. A department audit flagged 79 of those lookups for investigation, and Mayor Andre Dickens said Tuesday he will work with Council to write stronger privacy and oversight rules.
The proposed changes include monthly usage audits, clearer allowed uses, prohibited uses, refresher training, and routing outside-agency requests through authorized APD task-force officers.