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License-plate readers · Middlesex County

Middlesex County

Using license-plate readers · 14 agencies documented

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Ayer Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
Contract
Flock Safety: · to Aug. 31, 2026 · approved by Ayer Select Board, 3-0, Aug. 31, 2026 · Board voted to disable and remove all Flock equipment and end the contract. (Town of Ayer, Sept. 1, 2026)
  1. Aug. 31, 2026 The Select Board voted 3-0 to shut off and take down all of the town's Flock cameras and end its contract; the police chief contacted the company to begin removal. (Town of Ayer, Sept. 1, 2026; Boston.com, Sept. 1, 2026)

From agency records.

Billerica Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
  1. 2024 Flock cameras were installed; officials said this happened without a formal vote. (ROCK 92.9 / BostonNewsroom.com, March 3, 2026)
  2. Feb. 2026 The Select Board held a first reading of a proposal to remove the Flock cameras. (ROCK 92.9 / BostonNewsroom.com, March 3, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The first-reading date is from a Feb. 26, 2026 Lowell Sun report cited by the radio story; exact meeting date not stated.
  • No Select Board decision found as of Oct. 28, 2026.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Cambridge Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
16
Flock license plate readers deployed in the city and later deactivated and removed (police and city statement). A federal UASI grant paid for 8; the city paid for the other 8.
Contract
Flock Safety: about $3,000 a year per device (staff estimate, Sept. 2025) year · from 2025 · to Dec. 2025 · approved by Cambridge City Council, 6-3, Feb. 3, 2025 · Leased, not owned, per a councillor. Police said a federal Urban Area Security Initiative grant covered half the cost, $24,000 for eight cameras. Contract value and term were not published; the city announced termination on Dec. 10, 2025. (Cambridge Day, Sept. 8, 2025; Cambridge Day, Oct. 21, 2025; City of Cambridge, Dec. 10, 2025)
  1. Feb. 3, 2025 City Council approved roughly 15 to 20 automated license plate recognition units on a 6-3 vote, with Councillors Nolan, Siddiqui and Sobrinho-Wheeler opposed. (The Harvard Crimson, Feb. 4, 2025; Cambridge Day, Sept. 8, 2025)
  2. Aug. 7, 2025 Police policy 41-12 on automated license plate recognition took effect. It sets vendor retention of bulk plate data at no less than 14 and no more than 30 days and limits access to official law enforcement or public safety purposes. (Cambridge Police Department, Aug. 7, 2025)
  3. Sept. 8, 2025 All councillors backed an order asking the city manager to weigh the implications before the readers were installed. (Cambridge Day, Sept. 8, 2025)
  4. Oct. 20, 2025 City Council voted unanimously to ask that the readers be shut off until it decides, after a Public Safety Committee hearing, whether to bring them back or end their use. (Cambridge Day, Oct. 21, 2025; Boston 25 News, Oct. 21, 2025)
  5. Oct. 21, 2025 The 16 Flock cameras were switched off until further notice. (Boston 25 News, Oct. 21, 2025)
  6. Dec. 10, 2025 The city announced it is terminating its Flock Safety contract and said it would evaluate license plate readers and re-engage the council and public on the technology. (City of Cambridge, Dec. 10, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The city statement says it deactivated and removed the 16 readers in late October 2025.
  • Policy 41-12 does not name a vendor.

From agency records.

Framingham Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed by the city.
Contract
Flock Safety: · to June 30, 2026 · Contract expired June 30, 2026 and was not renewed; police said the system was shut down that day and removal work orders were being scheduled. (Boston.com, June 25, 2026; The Frame (Access Framingham), July 1, 2026)
  1. June 2026 Police decided not to renew the Flock contract, and the mayor's office said it would not be renewed for now. (Boston.com, June 25, 2026)
  2. June 15, 2026 The city released a transparency document saying police had limited Flock data sharing to Massachusetts agencies, with out-of-state requests approved case by case. (Boston.com, June 25, 2026)
  3. June 30, 2026 The Flock contract expired and police shut the system down. (The Frame (Access Framingham), July 1, 2026)
  4. July 1, 2026 The council's Rules, Ordinances and Ethics Subcommittee voted unanimously to send a proposed license plate reader ordinance (limits on data types, log audits, quarterly police reports) to the full City Council. (The Frame (Access Framingham), July 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The police chief told the Boston Globe Flock was used in 200 cases over four years (Boston Globe, July 30, 2026).
  • Accounts differ on who decided: Boston.com says police decided not to renew; the Globe says the City Council voted in June to let the contract expire (Boston Globe, July 30, 2026).
  • The Frame article shows no date; it describes the July 1 subcommittee meeting, so July 1, 2026 is used as an approximate source date.
  • A camera count in The Frame comes from a crowd-sourced map and is not used.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Groton Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
Contract
Flock Safety: · to Aug. 31, 2026 · Ended immediately by the town manager and police chief. (Groton Herald, Aug. 31, 2026)
  1. Aug. 31, 2026 Town Manager Mark Haddad and Police Chief Michael Luth ended the Flock contract; a Police Camera Working Group is to bring a recommendation to Spring 2027 Town Meeting. (Groton Herald, Aug. 31, 2026; Boston.com, Sept. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The Groton Herald reports Town Meeting had earlier cut the program's funding and that a citizens petition on the fall Town Meeting warrant sought withdrawal.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Hopkinton Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
2
Installed on Hayden Rowe Street and West Main Street; two more had been planned.
Contract
Flock Safety: · from 2026 · to Aug. 20, 2026 · Terminated effective immediately; the town asked Flock to switch the cameras off promptly and remove them by Sept. 30, 2026. (Hopkinton Independent, Aug. 20, 2026)
  1. Aug. 20, 2026 The town notified Flock it was terminating the contract, effective immediately. (Hopkinton Independent, Aug. 20, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Cameras were installed about five months before Aug. 2026.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Littleton Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
6
Flock cameras installed on public roads earlier in 2026.
  1. May 2026 Town officials voted to shut down all six cameras. (The Boston Globe, Aug. 6, 2026)
  2. July 30, 2026 The town announced the Select Board directed Town Counsel to begin canceling the Flock contract. (The Boston Globe, Aug. 6, 2026)
  3. Aug. 2026 Police shut the cameras off remotely, cut officers' access to the system, and confirmed that Flock had scheduled the cameras' removal from utility poles. (The Boston Globe, Aug. 6, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • As of Aug. 6, 2026 the town administrator said the contract had not yet been canceled. Police said the program was defunded at Town Meeting.
  • Police said no Littleton camera data was shared with other jurisdictions or accessed by officers while cameras were powered.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Lowell Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
  1. Sept. 21, 2026 Police published an online Flock transparency portal explaining officers' use of the cameras. (Boston.com, Sept. 24, 2026)
  2. Sept. 22, 2026 City Council voted 6-5 to pause use of the Flock cameras indefinitely while it reviews use and data auditing and until a policy is in place. (Boston 25 News, Sept. 23, 2026; Boston.com, Sept. 24, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Both articles say only 'Monday' (portal) and 'Tuesday' (vote); dates are inferred from publication dates of Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, 2026.
  • The Flock transparency portal at transparency.flocksafety.com/lowell-ma-pd could not be loaded on Oct. 28, 2026.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Stow Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety, Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed. The last Flock camera was removed in early August 2026; two other plate reader cameras were removed earlier in 2026.
  1. 2026 Two license plate reader cameras were removed after the department reviewed their effectiveness. (Boston.com, Aug. 18, 2026)
  2. Aug. 2026 Police Chief Michael Sallese ended the department's relationship with Flock Safety; the last Flock camera had been removed in early August. (Boston.com, Aug. 18, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor of the two cameras removed earlier in 2026 not stated.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Tewksbury Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
20
About 20 Flock cameras at intersections, per the Boston Globe (July 2026).
  1. June 2026 The Select Board voted to hire a cybersecurity consultant to help draft a new data-protection agreement and kept the Flock contract for the time being. (The Boston Globe, July 30, 2026)
  2. Sept. 25, 2026 Police Chief Ryan Columbus said the department had terminated its Flock contract and will not use the technology again unless state lawmakers or courts provide clearer rules. (Boston 25 News, Sept. 25, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • June 2026 meeting described as late June; vote count not given. Whether cameras have been physically removed is not stated.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Wakefield Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
  1. Oct. 2026 Police said they were dropping Flock, had switched off every plate reader, and planned to have Flock take the cameras down. (ACLU of Massachusetts, Oct. 27, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Only source found is the ACLU of Massachusetts tracker, which gives the month only and links no original announcement. Needs confirmation from the department or local press.

Secondhand report; not yet confirmed with the agency.

Waltham Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
16
Flock license plate readers listed on the department's Flock transparency portal (last updated Nov. 23, 2025).
  1. Nov. 23, 2025 The Flock transparency portal listed 30-day retention, access granted to 84 organizations, and 1,340 hotlist hits in the prior 30 days. (Flock Safety, Nov. 23, 2025)
  2. Sept. 2026 The mayor ordered city employees to cover all police Flock cameras with trash bags while the cameras await removal. (ACLU of Massachusetts, Oct. 27, 2026; Boston 25 News, Sept. 17, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Exact date of the covering order not found. Whether the contract has been terminated is not stated.

Secondhand report; not yet confirmed with the agency.

Watertown Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
8
Planned under the 2025 contract; none were installed.
Contract
Flock Safety: · from Sept. 2025 · to Jan. 2026 · Contract signed in 2025 for eight cameras; the city manager announced the city would exit it on Jan. 27, 2026. (Watertown News, Dec. 11, 2025; Watertown News, Jan. 28, 2026)
  1. Dec. 2025 At a council meeting, the council president asked to see the police policy before approval so it could get a public subcommittee discussion; cameras were not yet installed. (Watertown News, Dec. 11, 2025)
  2. Jan. 27, 2026 City Manager George Proakis told the City Council the city would cancel the Flock contract and work with procurement to exit it. (Watertown News, Jan. 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • December 2025 meeting was on a Tuesday before Dec. 11, 2025; exact date not stated.
  • The draft policy described by the city manager would bar sharing with federal agencies and out-of-state departments, and would allow sharing with other Massachusetts municipalities only by formal request tied to a legitimate criminal investigation.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Wilmington Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
2
Flock cameras posted in town at the time of cancellation.
Contract
Flock Safety: · to Sept. 14, 2026 · Canceled early; the department expected a $2,500 refund from Flock. (Boston 25 News, Sept. 15, 2026)
  1. Sept. 14, 2026 Police announced they canceled the Flock contract, citing community privacy concerns, and said the cameras would be removed as soon as possible. (Boston 25 News, Sept. 15, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Article says 'Monday'; date inferred from the Sept. 15, 2026 publication date.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. Jan. 14, 2015 Sen. Cynthia Creem filed S.1817 in the 2015-2016 session to regulate automatic license plate reader systems, including a 14-day deletion requirement and annual reporting; it was referred to the Transportation committee. A similar bill (S.1648) had been filed in 2013-2014. (Massachusetts Legislature, Jan. 14, 2015)
  2. Jan. 14, 2025 Rep. Steven Owens (D-Watertown) filed H.3755, "An Act establishing driver privacy protections," with Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa added on Jan. 21, 2025. The bill would create a new Chapter 90K limiting government ALPR use: 14-day retention unless tied to a specific criminal investigation, a warrant to reach other entities' ALPR data, no sharing except in judicial proceedings, and no use to track constitutionally protected activity. (Legiplex (Massachusetts Legislature bill record), Feb. 27, 2025; NBC Boston / State House News Service, Sept. 9, 2026)
  3. Oct. 7, 2025 The ACLU of Massachusetts published network audits and contract records it obtained through public records requests to nearly 80 police departments, reporting that Massachusetts police spent over $2 million on Flock technology over three years and that out-of-state agencies searched data from Massachusetts departments. An update on Feb. 26, 2026 said more than 80 Massachusetts police departments have Flock contracts. (ACLU of Massachusetts, Data for Justice Project, Oct. 7, 2025)
  4. Jan. 2026 The ACLU of Massachusetts sent a letter to municipal leaders whose police use Flock or another plate-reader vendor, asking them within 30 days to confirm their vendor, obtain settings and contract terms, disable sharing outside Massachusetts, and end contracts where outside sharing cannot be stopped. (ACLU of Massachusetts, Jan. 1, 2026)
  5. March 2026 The Joint Committee on Transportation endorsed H.3755 on an 11-0 vote, after which the bill went to House Ways and Means, where it remained as of September 2026. Its sponsor said he expects to refile a revised version next session. (NBC Boston / State House News Service, Sept. 9, 2026; The New Bedford Light / State House News Service, Sept. 10, 2026)
  6. Sept. 2026 Gov. Maura Healey's office referred questions on plate readers to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, whose spokesperson said the office supports appropriate safeguards and will keep monitoring the issue; no executive action was described. A six-member conference committee was working on data privacy legislation (S.2619 / H.5479), which the H.3755 sponsor said may affect ALPR data. (The New Bedford Light / State House News Service, Sept. 10, 2026; NBC Boston / State House News Service, Sept. 9, 2026)
  7. Sept. 2026 The ACLU of Massachusetts said 25 Massachusetts municipalities had canceled Flock contracts or ended pilots over the preceding 18 months. (NBC Boston / State House News Service, Sept. 9, 2026)
  8. Sept. 16, 2026 Rep. Adam Scanlon (D-Bristol) said he plans to file legislation with Rep. Marcus Vaughn setting statewide standards for plate readers, covering data retention, access rules, and auditing. No bill number was given. (Boston 25 News, Sept. 16, 2026)

State agencies

Massachusetts State Police

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Motorola Solutions
Cameras
Count not documented
No count disclosed.
  1. 2020 In 2020, State Police stopped using a plate-reader surveillance system after finding that a glitch had been recording inaccurate data for more than five years, according to MassLive's 2023 reporting. In that same reporting, a State Police spokesperson named Neology as a technology company the agency uses. (MassLive (via Government Technology), Oct. 17, 2023)
  2. 2025 During Boston's 2025 Flock trial, the State Police submitted 2 of the 15 requests to add plates to the Boston system's hot list. (City of Boston, Sept. 15, 2026)
  3. Oct. 7, 2025 The ACLU of Massachusetts reported that the State Police have contracts with Vigilant Solutions, a plate-reader data company. (ACLU of Massachusetts, Data for Justice Project, Oct. 7, 2025)
  4. Sept. 2026 A state public safety spokesperson told the Globe that the State Police do not use Flock Safety cameras. (The Boston Globe, Sept. 2, 2026)
  5. Sept. 4, 2026 In a statement, the State Police said fewer than 2% of members can query ALPR data, that each query requires a case number or reference, a reason, a time period and a geographic area, that users must complete privacy training, and that queries are monitored and audited. (The New Bedford Light / State House News Service, Sept. 10, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor: a State Police spokesperson named Neology in 2023 reporting; in 2025 the ACLU of Massachusetts named Vigilant Solutions, a Motorola Solutions company.
  • The 2020 date is year-only; the source gives no month.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.