Communities Against Mass Surveillance (CAMS) is a coalition of Asheville residents opposed to the growing presence of surveillance technology being used in our community. 

CAMS came together as Asheville City Council moved to accept a $1.14 million grant from the Department of Justice to fund the creation of a “Real-Time Intelligence Center,” a system built on Axon’s Fusus software that pulls together license plate reader data from Axon and Flock, drone footage, school cameras, and opted-in private camera feeds into a single database with minimal oversight and a high potential for misuse. 

On May 12, 2026, despite mounting public pressure to vote against the grant, City Council approved the grant in a 6-1 vote, with Kim Roney casting the sole “no.”

That vote didn’t end the work. CAMS now focuses on oversight and accountability: pushing the city to release the actual Axon contract terms, get Fusus and Flock audit logs into public view, and clarify how data collected through the system can end up shared with federal agencies like ICE.

We are also working to educate community members on why they should be concerned about mass surveillance, and why there are more effective, economical approaches to public safety.