Documented Incident

Boston Ends Flock Use After Report Shows Outside Agencies Accessed Pilot Data

Event: April 1, 2025 · First reported: September 14, 2026 · 13 sources

Boston's 2025 Surveillance Technology Report, released to the City Council, states that within three days of launching a Flock Safety pilot in April 2025, the Boston Police Department learned other law enforcement agencies could access license plate and vehicle data despite a contract requiring data sharing to be disabled. The report attributes the exposure to an error by Flock. Mayor Michelle Wu said the day before the report's release that the city has "abandoned Flock," telling GBH's Boston Public Radio that the city would not use a platform whose access controls cannot be restricted, or can be reset, in ways that violate city policy.

Key facts

• The pilot ran at no cost to the city for 156 days, from April 1, 2025 to Sept. 4, 2025.
• BPD received 77 requests from outside law enforcement agencies for Flock data during the pilot, according to the report as described by WBUR.
• An internal audit found officers ran 11,004 database searches and omitted a case number tied to a criminal investigation roughly half the time.
• The report did not identify which agencies accessed Boston's data or how many drivers were affected; WBUR reported that thousands of agencies have access to Flock's national network.
• Departments in Bellingham, Auburn and Stow have moved to end, suspend or reevaluate Flock contracts, and Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing statewide ALPR rules that have not been enacted.

Timeline

• September 14, 2026Boston Drops Flock After Outside Agencies Access Data
• September 16, 2026Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement
• September 16, 2026Boston ended Flock Safety camera trial after data exposed in security lapse

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

• Boston Drops Flock After Outside Agencies Access Data (GovTech, September 14, 2026)
• Boston drops Flock after outside agencies gained access to vehicle data (Masslive, September 14, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Hanford Sentinel, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Eagletribune, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Lodinews, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Union-bulletin, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Swoknews, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock but keeps license-plate cameras (Cybernews, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Boston Herald, September 15, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (Daily Item, September 16, 2026)
• Boston dumps Flock cameras after data leaked to outside law enforcement (The Brunswick News, September 16, 2026)
• Boston ended Flock Safety camera trial after data exposed in security lapse (Boston 25 News, September 16, 2026)
• Boston canceled Flock contract after privacy lapse in camera trial (WCVB, September 16, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated September 20, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.