Thirteen automated license plate reader cameras are scanning vehicles across Milton, and the police department won't disclose where they're located.

How they got here.

Milton Police spent $39,500 on the Flock Safety cameras in December 2024, purchased from the operating budget without a public vote, according to records obtained by resident Jack Kelly. The contract with Flock Safety runs through March 2028. The cameras log every passing vehicle's plate, make, model and color, feeding into a network that lets law enforcement track vehicles well beyond Milton's borders.

The concern driving the pushback.

Kelly raised the alarm on Facebook and followed up with a records request, warning the system enables warrantless tracking of residents' movements. "The unfortunate byproduct is authorities at all levels being equipped 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," he wrote to the Milton Times. Kelly said he isn't targeting the department itself, attributing much of the issue to "a misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the product by Flock themselves," but says there are real "transparency issues we need to crack open and discuss."

What the department says — and what might complicate that.

MPD Records Manager Lauren Morrissey said the data belongs to the department unless it grants outside agencies access, framing the system as a tool for solving crimes and finding endangered people. But the ACLU of Massachusetts has found Flock's default contract language lets the company share data with federal and local agencies for "investigative purposes" unless a department specifically negotiates changes — and it's unclear whether Milton's contract includes that default language. No state or federal law currently governs license plate reader use in Massachusetts.

Milton is now going against the grain.

At least five Massachusetts communities have dropped Flock in the past year over privacy and oversight concerns: Salem announced it won't renew, Framingham's contract expired after months of resident advocacy, Cambridge terminated its agreement after unauthorized cameras were installed without the city's knowledge, and Watertown and Natick have also ended their contracts. Nationally, at least 30 localities had canceled or deactivated Flock systems as of February, NPR reported — with several officials discovering after the fact that their data was being shared more broadly than expected, including with U.S. Border Patrol.

What's next.

Town Administrator Nick Milano made no commitment either way: "MPD is currently under contract with Flock and the department will assess future renewals when the contract is up." No Select Board discussion or public hearing has been scheduled. The contract runs through March 2028.