What is Flock Safety? How many camera locations are there? Where are the cameras located? Who approved this initiative? How has the public been involved? What role has the City Council played? Who has access to the data? Who owns the data?
How much has it cost taxpayers? From 1/1/23 to 3/2/26 the City of Malden has reportedly expended $112,712.33.
We found an undated memo from Chief Cronin to the City Council which provides this summary for Malden residents:
"Flock ALPR [Automated License Plate Recognition] technology is a focused, point-in-time tool that helps solve and reduce crime while protecting privacy through:"
- No tracking of vehicle movement
- No collection of personal data
- No facial recognition
- Local control of all data and sharing
- Automatic deletion of data based on city policy
"The goal is to enhance public safety, support constitutional policing, and reduce crime in a transparent, responsible way."
Malden News Network discussed Flock with OpenCommonwealth; they identified existing public records requests related to his. You may also be interested in a short Flock Safety video on YouTube describing the way this works.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rVPPmCD1lvs
Editorial Note
MNN has not confirmed the location or number of Flock Safety installations around Malden, as depicted on the attached map appearing at maps.deflock.org.
References
- https://deflock.org/
- https://www.flocksafety.com/trust/compliance-tools
- https://maps.deflock.org/timeline?lat=42.4215&lng=-71.0596&zoom=13.30&viz=dots
- https://cityofmalden.org/DocumentCenter/View/11159/Flock-Cameras
