Dartmouth Police cancel Flock camera contract

The Dartmouth Police department will not be renewing their contracts with the company Flock. 

Police chief Brian P. Levesque said this was decided for a number of reasons, including privacy concerns and the cost. 

“I think what I’m looking to do now is to take a little break from the system, evaluate and see how things play out,” said Levesque.

Flock is a name-brand of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that utilize artificial intelligence to gather data such as license plate numbers, bumper stickers and scratches that can help identify a vehicle. They are constantly recording and analyzing data. 

The cameras were first installed in July 2023, when the Select Board approved them. There were five installed around points of entry in town. The town also had access to a mobile Flock camera that was on a police cruiser, and would be used by detectives as necessary. The cameras cost $20,000 annually. 

The town would only share the information with other local police departments when they filed a request.

“There was never any interest in following people around town,” said Levesque, “It was just simply seeing people coming into town.”

He also stated that the police had stricter privacy guidelines than many other towns, with only a select few detectives being allowed access to the information and having monthly audits of how the information was used. 

“It’s all out there in the open,” said Levesque, “Stuff we do is very transparent.”

There have been no cases of police misuse in Dartmouth found through the audits, with each reported use having aided in solving a crime. 

Levesque listed a number of crimes that the police have solved with Flock, which included shoplifting, sexual assaults, stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, wanted persons, breaking and entering and more.

The contract for the five stationary Flock cameras will expire on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The contract on the mobile camera has already expired, and the camera is now in the police station unable to be used.

After the contracts expire, Flock representatives will come to Dartmouth to remove the cameras at an unknown point. Levesque stated he has requested for a timeline on their removal, which has not been received.

There will still be Flock and other styles of security cameras in town, owned by private companies such as Lowes. 

A number of residents were in attendance of the Select Board meeting where Levesque explained why he decided to cancel the contract, all of which spoke in support of this decision. 

Rogero Duarte pointed out that while there are cameras all around, the difference is when a private person has a camera compared to the government, saying “...when the government decides to intercede, that is a different story and that needs to be properly adjudicated.”

“Anybody who’s going to sacrifice their liberty for a little bit of security and safety is going to get neither one,” said Duarte. 

Others, like Alexyie Rudman, raised the concern that the data being collected is accessible nationwide. The data is not always accurate, as AI evaluates the collected data and in many instances has been used to justify the arrest of the wrong person.  

Select Board Chair Heidi Silva Brook pointed out that the police can still request access to privately owned cameras when needed for evidence. She added she has gotten a number of calls from residents, both in support and against Flock cameras. 

Keith Murphy asked that the Select Board consider the Community Control Over Police Surveillance initiative, which creates a transparent process where the police have to explain to the public what they are doing and why. 

“I think the technology outpaces the ability to regulate,” said Select Board member Nathan Silva, “I think a lot of the concern comes into the tradeoffs. What are the tradeoffs that we expect for increased police safety versus … the loss of privacy or the feeling of the loss of privacy?”