The cameras do not stop at the city line. The county’s network came first, the neighbors share into the same pools, and the state now compels what local officials once chose. Start with the overview, then the county you live in.
- WNC and NC: The regional overview: where the data goes, who has signed with ICE, and what each county has decided.
- What the Law Lets the County Do: Who can say no to a sheriff’s cameras, what the state now compels on immigration, where the data is allowed to go, and the levers that remain.
The counties
| What’s there | Who decides | |
|---|---|---|
| Asheville | The city’s own timeline, as a regional case | Asheville |
| Buncombe County | The sheriff’s ~2,000-camera network, his own policies, the forfeiture money | Buncombe County |
| Henderson County | 13 Flock readers shared with 2,048 agencies; WNC’s only 287(g) jail | Lowell Griffin |
| Haywood County | Keeping its cameras after Macon left; an open sheriff’s race | Mark Mease vs Tyler Howell |
| Macon County | The 5 to 0 vote that ended Flock; 12 cameras down | Josh Young, John Shearl |
| Madison County | A moratorium fight and a sheriff’s race | Buddy Harwood vs Robin Lyles |
| Jackson County | Four Flock readers and a four-document policy manual | Doug Farmer |
| Transylvania County | Brevard’s live fight; the sheriff unopposed | Chuck Owenby |
| Rutherford County | The February 2025 pitch: “access to the nationwide database” | Aaron Ellenburg |
| McDowell County | A new sheriff, sworn in August 10 | Nathan Mace |
The full regional roster of officials: Western North Carolina people.