The New Bedford Police Department has suspended its use of Flock cameras, the automatic license plate readers that have quietly popped up across the country over the past few years, sparking controversy.
This comes after the New Bedford Light's Anastasia Lennon reported that a New Bedford police officer is accused of using the cameras to track an ex romantic partner.
CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with Anastasia to learn more.
Gilda Geist For those who aren't familiar, what are Flock cameras and how has the New Bedford Police Department used them?
Anastasia Lennon Flock Safety is the name of the company that creates Flock cameras, but they are technically called automated license plate readers. And they are devices that you can see on telephone poles. They're sometimes on standalone poles. There are 20 flock cameras in the city. They take photos of cars, every car that's driving by, and those photos get put into a database, and this database can be accessed not only by the police department in that municipality where the cameras are, but by departments all over the country, possibly, depending on the settings that a municipality decides. It logs the license plate, sometimes any attributes of the car, like a bumper sticker, the make, the model, the color. And so, police officers can use this system to search this data now that it's retained for a certain number of weeks if they're investigating a crime. And so, police say that's how they've been able to use this technology to help solve crimes, but it's been a major concern for residents over privacy and other potential issues.
GG You reported that a New Bedford police officer is accused of using the Flock cameras to track her ex-girlfriend. Can you tell us more about that?
AL We received a tip about an officer being accused of using this technology to follow an ex-romantic partner. So, I went to the courthouse, I checked and found that there was a request for an abuse prevention order against an officer in New Bedford, Emily Pacheco. And her ex-girlfriend alleges that Officer Pacheco was repeatedly trying to contact her, finding her at her workplace, and then also alleged that there was an internal affairs investigation opened into Officer Pacheco for her alleged use of the Flock system to follow the ex-girlfriend.
GG This week, the New Bedford Police Department announced it is suspending the use of Flock cameras. Why? And does it have anything to do with the reporting you did on what allegedly happened with Officer Pacheco?
AL The police chief, Jason Thody, a few weeks ago did appear at a meeting convened by two city councilors. Residents overwhelmingly said they were against this system and shared a lot of concerns. So, a lot of it was about an invasion of privacy, but also concerned about how officers might abuse the system because there has been reporting throughout the country of cases in which police officers have used it to stalk their ex-romantic partners and have used it very improperly. And so, that was cited as a concern here in New Bedford, and now we have documentation showing that there are allegations that a police officer was doing just that. This is the first reported case, to my knowledge, for the state of Massachusetts of this misuse of Flock to potentially, allegedly, track a romantic partner. The police chief at the outset of the meeting did say he's not there to sell Flock, he's there to listen, and it's possible that the city could change what it's doing, but he just wanted to hear what people had to say. So, when they announced the suspension this week, the chief said he directed a review of how the system has been used since it was implemented. And just as more context, the city adopted it [Flock] very quietly—they didn't announce it—in late 2024. And this was several months before this current police chief joined the department. But he said the department wants the opportunity to ensure that there are appropriate safeguards and access controls, and he also noted that there are an undisclosed number of internal affairs investigations now open over potential misuse of the system. So, those are the reasons that they stated that they found in checking the system that it seems that there were several officers—again, we don't know how many— that may have been misusing the system. And as for your other question, I'll just point to our reporting in the timeline. We reached out to the department on Monday about these allegations against the officer, and then the following day on Tuesday, I reached out with more detailed questions, and then a few hours later, the department put out the announcement that it was suspending the system.
GG So, this is a temporary suspension of the Flock cameras. Did the police department say when or under what circumstances they might turn them back on?
AL They have not. I'm waiting to hear back on several questions as to how long this might last. They did say they're doing a thorough review. Previously, the department, when they've announced reviews, has hired outside consulting firms. I don't know if that's the case here. We don't know the timing or how this could end, but I'm trying to get those answers, and we'll definitely be following up with more coverage.
Read Anastasia's stories about the officer accused of misusing Flock cameras and the police department's suspension of the Flock system in the New Bedford Light.
