SALEM, MA — The tenuous balance between prioritizing public safety and optimizing law enforcement — and protecting citizens against unlawful surveillance — has reached a tipping point in dozens of Massachusetts communities in recent weeks as cities and towns debate the merits of using Automated License Plate Reader technology and the storage of that data.
Several cities and towns, including Salem, Littleton, Douglas, Grafton, East Bridgewater and New Bedford, have either terminated or suspended contracts with Flock — the prominent ALPR provider in the industry — while two officers were placed on administrative leave in Lynn for potential misuse of the tracking data.
"ALPR technology can be a valuable public safety tool, and we believed this system could help our officers investigate crimes and locate people in danger," East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins said in announcing the department's decision to end its contract with Flock. "However, any technology we use must have the confidence of the community. Residents have raised legitimate questions about privacy, access to data, oversight and the safeguards needed to prevent misuse. After listening to those concerns and taking a closer look at the issue, I believe ending our agreement with Flock is the right decision for East Bridgewater."
The potential abuse of Flock ALPR data has been an increasingly contentious issue across the state in recent months — with some North Shore residents and groups raising concerns about how federal agencies such as ICE could obtain that information and use it for immigration enforcement, and cases of audits showing that police personnel accessed that information and potentially used it to track residents for personal reasons.
Lynn Police Chief Ashley Affonco last week said search anomalies were found in an audit of department surveillance monitoring using a tool provided by Flock, leading to the two suspensions.
Flock representatives have said that those audits show that the company is providing technology designed to catch those potential abuses.
"This review revealed a concerning pattern in some searches," Chief Affonco said. "If it is determined that an officer conducted searches in violation of department policy, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. ... It is also important to note that based on the detailed analysis conducted, none of the searches pertained to or were involved with immigration enforcement.
"The use of technology is an essential part of public safety operations. We have experienced the benefits of it in numerous investigations, including incidents of homicide, gun violence, breaking and entering, hit and run, and more. With those benefits come the responsibility to engage in ongoing public review to ensure that advances in technology are met with relevant and effective safeguards."
Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said this summer that the city was ending its Flock Safety contract over data storage and accessibility concerns — but that the city believed in the importance of the technology and would explore other ALPR systems.
"They have played a principal part in nearly every major investigation that has occurred in recent memory in Salem," Pangallo said. "These include, among many others, the successful arrests of suspects in the bombing of the Satanic Temple, shootings that occurred on Horton Street, Albion Street, and Pope Street, two rapes, and numerous other felonies including stabbings, armed robberies, and breaking and entering.
"Therefore, Flock ALPRs are being replaced with units that will still assist the department in keeping all people in Salem safe, but that better retain local control of data."
Isa Leshko, president and founder of North Shore Progressives, was among the citizen advocates who pressed Salem to reconsider its use of ALPRs altogether.
"LPRs automatically record and timestamp the license plates of every vehicle that passes them, along with their location. In addition, they often have AI capabilities that can predict travel routes for vehicles," North Shore Progressives said in a position statement in July. "These capabilities enable police to find motorists in real time and track their prior movements without any warrants, probable cause, or even suspicion of wrongdoing.
"Any time a new camera is installed for LPR processing the risk of mass surveillance increases."
A similar debate played out at a Beverly City Council meeting this spring where Police Chief John LeLacheur told the Council that data collected in real time from the cameras had recently been used to apprehend suspects in the Beverly home invasion, the apparent random killing of a Danvers woman, and to find a young driver whose mother identified as being potentially suicidal, while several residents and Councilors expressed concerns about civil liberty abuses.
"One of the residents said that the Beverly Police Department has my confidence; Flock as a company does not," said Beverly City Council President Julie Flowers. "That's a lot of what I'm hearing in the room. Chief, lieutenant, folks here in Beverly really appreciate and respect what you and members of the department do for us every day, and the training that your officers have gone through, and your attentiveness to these kinds of issues. ...
"It's Flock that raises the questions here."
Patch reached out to Flock for a statement on its safeguards and data storage and access concerns, but had not heard back as of the initial publication of this story.
In Douglas, a department statement said the Flock system "has been an effective investigative tool for us and has been instrumental in helping us solve several serious crimes" but that "given the divisive atmosphere surrounding its use, we believe deactivating the system is the appropriate decision at this time."
In Grafton, police cited "vandalism and theft involving these (Flock) devices" as a reason for deactivating the cameras, along with "growing concerns about the use of this technology in our community."
Jenkins said in a letter to East Bridgewater residents that any future consideration of ALPR technology would be through a "transparent process that gives the public a clear understanding of what is being proposed and how their information would be protected."
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Salem Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.