Canton Police Chief Michael Daniels publicly detailed on Monday, Aug. 17, how the department uses automated license plate readers, citing two recent local cases where the technology paid off: officers identified a vehicle tied to a significant property damage investigation and, separately, located a vulnerable missing person.
The announcement, reported by Patch, came after residents raised questions about the Flock Safety cameras mounted around town.
Daniels said the system may be used in cases involving missing or endangered people, stolen vehicles, wanted individuals and property crimes. All searches are logged and subject to review and audit, he said, and access is restricted to legitimate law enforcement purposes under department policy and applicable law.
"The Canton Police Department will continue to evaluate the use of technology based on its effectiveness, its public safety value and accountability surrounding its use," Daniels said.
Key details remain undisclosed. The chief did not say how many cameras Canton operates, when they were installed or what the town pays for the service.
Statewide scrutiny
Canton's statement lands in the middle of a heated statewide conversation about Flock Safety. In New Bedford, a police officer was accused in August of using the department's Flock system to track an ex-girlfriend, prompting that city to temporarily suspend its cameras and launch an internal review. A Washington Post investigation found at least 50 law enforcement officers nationwide have been charged with misusing Flock's tools.
Massachusetts lacks the legal guardrails other New England states have adopted to regulate police use of the technology, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Flock Safety itself announced in August that it will require all customers to adopt an "Audit Assistance" feature by year's end. The tool flags abnormal search activity and requires officers to enter a case code tied to an active investigation before running a query, according to The Record.
Next door in Milton
Neighboring Milton has faced its own Flock debate. The Milton Police Department purchased 13 cameras in December 2024 for $39,500 from its operating budget, with a contract running through March 2028, according to the Milton Times. Several Massachusetts communities, including Cambridge, Framingham, Watertown and Natick, have since ended their Flock contracts over privacy concerns.
Milton resident Jack Kelly wrote to the Milton Times in July that the technology allows authorities "to reconstruct (and even infer) the movement patterns of an increasing pool of individuals in the U.S. from a website, and often without a warrant."
Canton has not announced any public forum or policy review related to its Flock cameras. Daniels' statement did not specify whether the department plans to seek community input on the program's future.
