Flock Safety cameras will no longer monitor drivers in Boston. But that doesn’t mean Boston police are backing away from license plate reader technology.
After an annual surveillance report this week revealed Flock improperly shared Boston vehicle data with outside law enforcement agencies just three days into the pilot program, Mayor Michelle Wu said the city had “abandoned” the system. The Flock pilot involved roughly 45 automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras from April 1 through Sept. 4, 2025.
Yet the report outlines how Boston police already launched pilot programs with Motorola and Axon as replacement ALPR platforms, which raised new questions about compliance with a city council ordinance that requires approval for new surveillance technologies…