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Cambridge committee signals end to Flock Safety contract after unplanned camera installs and privacy alarm
Summary
After presentations from the police department, Flock Safety, the ACLU and privacy advocates, Cambridge’s Public Safety Committee and city manager said the city will move to terminate its contract with Flock Safety following the discovery of two cameras installed under a pre-existing work order and broader concerns about nationwide data-sharing and security.
Vice Mayor and Public Safety Committee chair called the committee to order to continue discussion of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) and the city’s contract with vendor Flock Safety.
Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elo told the committee the city paused ALPR operations this fall amid questions about Flock-related breaches reported elsewhere and community concern about data governance. “When we partnered with Flock, it was because they answered all the right questions to our concerns around data sharing, retention, ownership and privacy,” Elo said. She added that the department had taken the cameras down and paused recording while it reassesses governance and protections.
Deputy Superintendent described a recent violent incident involving five masked people with firearms and said ALPRs can be “incredibly useful” if tightly controlled. The deputy superintendent said the department had administratively deactivated its Flock account and restricted admin access, but learned just before the meeting that two cameras had been installed under a pre-existing work order; those…
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