Embedded Files
Beverly Police Department uses Flock automated license plate readers and shares our driving data with Massachusetts law enforcement agencies.
Update:
Update:
BPD launched their Flock Transparency Portal on May 4, 2026 after feedback from the public meeting on April 21, 2026.
We say NO to:
We say NO to:
❌ Warrantless searches
❌ Sharing our data with agencies who have a 287(g) agreement with ICE, such as the Massachusetts Department of Corrections
❌ Flock having a dangerously broad license to use and disclose our Bev data (see our current contract, section 4 in particular)
We say YES to:
We say YES to:
✅ Our 4th amendment rights, securing us against unreasonable searches by the government, plus our reasonable expectation of privacy in public
✅ Protecting immigrants, those seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care, political protestors, and other vulnerable groups
Flock cameras are located at:
Flock cameras are located at:
Rantoul St (northbound) @ School St - near the Salem bridge
Cabot St (southbound) @ Beckford St - near Gloucester Crossing
Brimbal Ave (southbound) @ Otis Rd - near Whole Foods
Elliott St (eastbound) @ McKay St - near the Cummings Center
Take action now!
Take action now!
Contact the Mayor ASAP
Contact the Mayor ASAP
Mayor Mike Cahill
mayorcahill@beverlyma.gov
978-605-2382
City Hall
191 Cabot St
Beverly, MA 01915
Note:
If you email, make sure to CC all three Councilors At Large and your specific Ward Councilor.
Phone number goes to Amelia Boivin in Constituent Services.
How to address a postcard
How to address a postcard
What to say to the mayor
What to say to the mayor
Best practices
Best practices
Use your own voice
Include a personal narrative if possible
Include your name and address so the mayor knows your his constituent
Short example
Short example
Mayor Cahill:
Please cancel our contract with Flock. Outside agencies must not access our data without court-issued warrants.
Long example
Long example
Mayor Cahill:
Thank you for attending the 4/21 meeting on Flock cameras. I am deeply concerned about Flock’s ability to share Beverly’s data with outside agencies without the use of warrants.
I especially worry about vulnerable populations that have been political targets in recent times. Public records requests have shown that outside agencies have searched Beverly data for the purpose of immigration enforcement, including ICE. This must stop. We must also protect people who drive to Beverly to receive reproductive or gender-affirming care.
Please cancel our contract with Flock. Outside agencies must not access our data without court-issued warrants.
Host a postcard party 🥳
Host a postcard party 🥳
Get the kids involved 🖍️
Get the kids involved 🖍️
Print these coloring pages and mail them to the mayor's address above!
Public Meeting
Public Meeting
On April 21, 2026, the City Council's Joint Meeting of the Legal Affairs and Public Services Committees focused solely on Flock license plate readers. More than 80 people attended. The Beverly Police gave a presentation and answered questions from the councilors. Community members spoke passionately. The room erupted in applause several times in support of speakers urging the city to get rid of Flock.
Why is this important?
Why is this important?
Read Get the Flock Out by the ACLU of Massachusetts - here's an excerpt:
"License plate readers (LPRs) are a common police surveillance technology that threaten our privacy and safety.
With LPRs, law enforcement can track drivers' real-time and historical location information. In other words, they can see exactly where you’ve been and where you’re going. And they don’t even need a warrant.
All too often, law enforcement dumps this highly personal information into a nationwide database, which can be accessed by other state and federal agencies, including ICE. That puts immigrants, people seeking healthcare, political protesters, victims of domestic violence, and others at risk."
Allowing Beverly data to be part of Flock's nationwide database conflicts with the city's official stance on immigrant rights.
Read the Mayoral Declaration and Joint Proclamation on Immigration and the Values of the City of Beverly, as well as Beverly Police Department's revised Immigration Status and Detainer Policy. All were signed on Feb 9, 2026.
How can I learn more?
How can I learn more?
EFFecting Change: Get the Flock Out of our City, a 1-hour webinar from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (recorded Feb 19, 2026)
Quick Reads
Quick Reads
Why some cities are ditching their Flock license plate readers by NPR (3-minute listen)
Get the Flock Out: Resource Guide by ACLU of Massachusetts
Flock Off FAQ by Mass 50501
DeFlock, an open-source project with a nationwide map
How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters and Activists by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Longer Reads
Longer Reads
Flock Gives Law Enforcement All Over the Country Access to Your Location by ACLU of Massachusetts
Your Car is Being Logged by The 50501 Movement
You Really Do Have Some Expectation of Privacy in Public by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement by the Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington
Inside the AI Surveillance State by WBUR's On Point (36-minute listen)
How have the courts ruled?
How have the courts ruled?
Commonwealth v. Augustine (2014)
Commonwealth v. Augustine (2014)
This case is about cell phone location data, which can be argued is very similar to license plate reader data.
From the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court:
“[A]lthough historical cell site location information for the criminal defendant's cellular telephone constituted a business record of the defendant's cellular telephone service provider, he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in that information … and in the circumstances of the case, the Commonwealth was obliged to secure a search warrant supported by probable cause before obtaining such information from the cellular telephone service provider.”
Carpenter v. United States (2018)
Carpenter v. United States (2018)
This case is about cell phone location data, which can be argued is very similar to license plate reader data.
CSLI = Cell Site Location Information
From the Supreme Court of the United States:
"An individual retains a reasonable expectation of privacy in the CSLI corresponding to his cell phone number and law enforcement must generally get a warrant to access that information." (from the opinion announcement)
“[A]n individual maintains a legitimate expectation of privacy in the record of his physical movements as captured through CSLI.” (from the opinion itself)
Read the Oyez summary of Carpenter and access the opinions and audio
Commonwealth v. McCarthy (2020)
Commonwealth v. McCarthy (2020)
From the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court:
“[w]ith enough cameras in enough locations, the historic location data from an [LPR] system in Massachusetts would invade a reasonable expectation of privacy and would constitute a search for constitutional purposes.”
Read the Harvard Law Review analysis
Get more involved
Get more involved
Diana and Aya tabling and handing out flyers at the Hands Off Beverly protest on April 4, 2026.
Join Beverly Social Justice Book Club. We read books and take action. (No pressure to read/finish the book!)
Tell your MA House Rep to support H.3755 An Act Establishing Driver Privacy Protections. Read a one-pager here.
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