Salem among communities rejecting security company over data concerns

Salem joins a growing list of Massachusetts cities and towns that have abandoned Herd safety cameras due to data privacy concerns.

City officials announced Thursday that the contract with Flock Safety, a Georgia-based surveillance technology manufacturer, will not be renewed. Salem will also remove the automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) currently installed.

“The city has determined that there is insufficient protection for ALPR data generated by Fluke systems,” Salem Mayor Domenic Pangalo and Police Chief Lucas Miller said in a statement. Joint statement. “Data like this should only be owned and used to advance Salem’s public safety priorities.”

Herd cameras have been installed in many communities statewide and have played a critical role in assisting law enforcement. However, there have been widespread concerns about the enhanced surveillance system coming at the expense of privacy rights.

“Technology has some real positives for law enforcement,” said Matt Ross, a professor of public policy and economics with policing experience at Northeastern University. boston.com In December. “But now is a good time to pass legislation to put some barriers around this, because frankly, there are no such barriers.”

Salem police relied on license plate readers in criminal investigations, missing person searches, and hit-and-run accidents. Officials said they have currently been installed at several high-traffic intersections as well as entry and exit points into the city.

Security technology “has played a major role in nearly every major investigation that has occurred in recent memory in Salem,” the statement said. These include arrests of Satanic temple bombing suspects; Shootings on Horton Street, Albion Street and Pope Street; two rapes; and “several other felonies including stabbing, armed robbery, and breaking and entering.”

City officials acknowledged the value of security technology but expressed concern about inadequate local data control. The Flock ALPRs will be replaced with more secure units that “still help the department keep everyone in Salem safe,” Pangalo and Miller said.

Salem is one of several communities that have rejected Flock Safety cameras due to data concerns. In June, Framingham police announced the city would not renew its contract after months of public debate and advocacy from residents.

Last October, the Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to temporarily halt the use of the cameras just months after approving them. After Fluke installed two more cameras in late November “without the city’s knowledge,” Cambridge officially terminated its contract the following month.

Other communities, including Brooklyn, Natickand Watertown,We successfully rolled back Flock during our installation plans and ,beta tests. Officials have widely expressed enthusiasm for enhancing surveillance in concept, but controversies over Fluke data have them looking for alternatives.

“I believe license plate reader technology is an extremely valuable tool in legitimate law enforcement, but it is a form of invasive surveillance by the government, which we would probably accept, in normal times, as the price we pay for law and order,” said Bernard Green, chairman of Brookline Select. boston.com In October 2025. “But we do not live in normal times.”