Methuen to Cover and Remove Flock Cameras, Citing Limited Local Control Over Data

First reported: September 24, 2026 · 5 sources

Methuen, Mass., officials said Wednesday the city will immediately cover its Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras and arrange for their removal. Mayor David P. "D.J." Beauregard Jr. and Acting Police Chief Jamie Moore said they found no evidence that Methuen personnel misused the system but concluded Flock does not offer sufficient protections or local control over the data. They also cited concerns raised by a Methuen city councilor about searches of the councilor's license plate that the officials said were reportedly conducted by another police department, not Methuen's. The officials said they will look for an alternative system that keeps investigative capabilities while meeting the city's privacy and data-control standards.

Why this matters

Methuen's decision turns on governance rather than proven local misuse, raising the question of how much control an individual department retains over ALPR data once it is shared across agencies. The reported search of a sitting councilor's plate by an outside department is the kind of cross-agency access issue other communities are now weighing.

Key facts

Methuen announced on a Wednesday that it would immediately cover its Flock cameras and arrange for removal.
City officials said they found no evidence of misuse by Methuen personnel but said Flock lacks sufficient local data control.
Officials referenced a councilor's allegation that another police department searched the councilor's plate; no details were provided and the claim has not been independently detailed in the report.
Officials cited past investigative uses, including tracking a rental car connected to the Brown University mass shooting suspect to a storage facility in Salem, N.H.
Last month, Haverhill city councilors voted unanimously to have the city solicitor draft an ALPR ordinance; Haverhill has had 19 Flock cameras since 2023.

Sources

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

Methuen Ends Use of Flock Safety Cameras; Says City Councilor was Tracked (WHAV, September 24, 2026)
Methuen ends use of Flock Safety cameras over data concerns (Boston 25 News, September 23, 2026)
Methuen ends use of Flock Safety cameras over data concerns (Boston 25 News, September 23, 2026)
Methuen Ends Use of Flock Safety Cameras; Says City Councilor was Tracked (Newsbreak, September 24, 2026)
Methuen ends use of Flock Safety cameras over data concerns (Yahoo, September 23, 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 24, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.