Flock Cameras and Data Privacy

Beverly Police Department (BPD) uses Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs).

We have concerns. And the community does too.

We say NO to:

❌ Warrantless searches

❌ Automatically sharing our data nationwide and with any agencies that have a 287(g) agreement with ICE. (See how TX, FL, and others searched Beverly data in our public records request response.)

❌ Flock having a dangerously broad license to use and disclose our data (see page 13, section 4. Confidentiality; Agency Data in Beverly's contract with Flock)

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 camera locations in Bev

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

Podcast Episode

Better Beverly is our new podcast, and our inaugural episode was on Flock cameras! We recorded on July 7, 2026. Watch the full episode below. Check our YouTube channel for future episodes.

Changes BPD has implemented

We submitted multiple public records requests in the spring of 2026, and a public meeting was held on April 21, 2026.

BPD has made a number of changes to how they use Flock cameras.

Key takeaways

BPD turned ON the immigration filter on February 2, 2026, filtering out any immigration-related searches.
BPD adopted a new ALPR policy on April 15, 2026.
BPD launched their Transparency Portal on May 4, 2026.
In early May 2026, BPD turned OFF automatic nationwide data sharing with out-of-state and federal agencies. This means only Massachusetts law enforcement agencies can automatically search Beverly data.
Out-of-state and federal agencies must submit a written request to BPD in order to search our Beverly data. BPD reviews this request and checks if it aligns with their ALPR policy. If approved, BPD will then search our data on behalf of the other agency.

Screenshot of the BPD homepage (beverlypolice.org). To access the BPD's Flock Transparency Portal, click "Resources," then "Automatic License Plate Recognition."

Open the Transparency Portal

Emails with BPD

Lt. Ed Hathon is BPD's Flock administrator. We've had a few email correspondences with him, featured below.

May 5, 2026

Lt. Haton informed us of changes in data sharing and the launch of the new transparency portal:

"Following discussions I have had with Chief LeLacheur on how our department utilizes the Flock ALPR cameras, we have made a few changes to improve system auditing, increase transparency with the public, and address some concerns that have been raised.

At the beginning of this month our department revoked all 'out of state' one-to-one data sharing with other law enforcement agencies. This will allow administrators to better review / audit the sharing of data as well as greatly reduce the amount of agencies that have open access to our data. Currently, we only allow direct data sharing with Massachusetts law enforcement agencies. Any federal agency or state / local agencies (based outside of Massachusetts) would have to contact me (system administrator) directly to request information. Upon those departments sending a request they must provide a search reason and criminal offense category along with vehicle information when requesting access to our data. Upon receipt we would review to ensure the request is legal and also falls within our department policies and procedures before we share any data or information.

Additionally, as of yesterday our Flock Transparency Portal has gone live. This information can be found on the Official Beverly Police Department website: https://beverlypolice.org/ , under the Resources tab, select the option for: "Automatic License Plate Recognition". This link includes information pertaining to our use of the Flock system, our ALPR policy, recent tally in the past 30 days of vehicles detected, hotlist hits, and number of searches. Public audit of search data and additional information is available as well. You may also access this data on the following hyperlink: https://transparency.flocksafety.com/beverly-ma-pd"

July 1, 2026

Our question: Does the CSV capture a) searches that Beverly officers are performing, b) searches that other agencies are performing on our Bev data, or c) both?

Lt. Hathon's answer via email:

"Currently the public search audit feature only allows for our organization (Beverly Police Department) searches to be publicly made available. Network searches (other agencies) are not currently included in the public audit report.

As a program administrator I continue to audit both our organization as well as network searches monthly.

In addition, our department ONLY allows network sharing with other Massachusetts law enforcement agencies. We do not provide sharing with any out-of-state agencies or federal agencies without receiving written request and as long as it is in accordance with our ALPR policy."

July 2, 2026

Our question: Would it be possible for the Transparency Portal to also include an additional CSV that contains network searches, both the automatic ones from MA agencies and also the case-by-case ones from other state/federal agencies that you manually approve?

Lt. Hathon's answer via email:

"The public audit feature that is on the transparency portal is facilitated through Flock Safety and currently only allows the public to see the organizational audit and not network audit, so that is beyond my control at this point.

If any out of state or federal agencies provide a request to our department for information from our Flock data and it falls in accordance with our policy, a member of our department will conduct the search which will be visible from the public search audit."

July 25, 2026

Our question: For the NCIC hotlists that BPD subscribes to in the Flock admin interface, do you have the "Immigration Violater" one turned ON or OFF? Asking because I learned about it in this article and wanted to confirm the use of hotlist alerts aligns with BPD's updated Immigration Status and Detainer Policy (and the Mayoral Declaration and Joint Proclamation).

Lt. Hathon's answer via email:

"The immigration violator option has ALWAYS been turned OFF.

Furthermore, the Immigration related search filter is toggled ON that will automatically block and prevent searches by any (organization and network) user related to immigration enforcement."

Take action now!

Contact Rep. Bowen

Ask our State House Representative Hannah Bowen to support H.3755, An Act Establishing Driver Privacy Protections. It's currently with the Ways and Means Committee; ask to bring the bill to the House floor for discussion.

Hannah.Bowen@mahouse.gov
617-722-2460

State House
24 Beacon St
Room 443
Boston, MA, 02133

Contact Mayor Cahill

Ask Mayor Mike Cahill to cancel our Flock contract. He's the city's Chief Procurement Officer, and it's entirely in his power to do so. City Council has no authority over the contract. Each camera costs $3,000 annually; let's put that money to better use!

mayorcahill@beverlyma.gov
978-605-2382

City Hall
191 Cabot St
Beverly, MA 01915

Pro tips for contacting elected officials

Use your own voice
Include a personal narrative
Include your name and address so they know you're their constituent

Get the kids involved!

Print these coloring pages and have the kids (or adult kids!) color them. Mail them to the elected officials above.

Print cars page

Print warrants page

Print bird page

Public Meeting

On April 21, 2026, the City Council's Joint Meeting of the Legal Affairs and Public Services Committees focused solely on Flock. More than 80 people attended. Lt. Hathon from BPD gave a presentation and answered questions from councilors. Community members spoke passionately. The room erupted in applause several times in support of speakers urging the city to get rid of Flock.

Read our press release

City Council Flock 21APR2026.pdf

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."

Learn more from the ACLU of MA

Learn More

In 15 minutes or less

Why some cities are ditching their Flock license plate readers by NPR (3-minute listen)

Flock Off by Mass 50501

Your Car is Being Logged by The 50501 Movement

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

You've got some time and want to deep dive

Flock Gives Law Enforcement All Over the Country Access to Your Location by ACLU of Massachusetts

You Really Do Have Some Expectation of Privacy in Public, article 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, podcast by WBUR's On Point (36 minutes)

EFFecting Change: Get the Flock Out of our City, webinar by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (1 hour)

Relevant court cases

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.”

Deep dive:

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)

Deep dive:

Read the Oyez summary of Carpenter and access the opinions and audio

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.”

Deep dive:

MA cities that canceled Flock

Cambridge (December 10, 2025) - see the city statement or the boston.com article
Natick (January 21, 2026) - see pages 3-4 of the meeting minutes or the MetroWest Daily News article
Greenfield (January 22, 2026) - see this Greenfield Reporter article
Watertown (January 27, 2026) - see page 9 of the meeting minutes or the Watertown News article
Attleboro (March 2026) - see the Sun Chronicle article
Framingham (June 22, 2026) - see the boston.com article or the MetroWest Daily News article
Salem (July 23, 2026) - see the city statement and the activists' coalition article

Get Involved

Want to join in our local advocacy effort?

Join the fight against Flock

Diana and Aya tabling and handing out flyers at the Hands Off Beverly protest on April 4, 2026.

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