BELLINGHAM, Mass.- The Bellingham Police Department will not renew its contract with Flock Safety when the current agreement expires Sept. 4, citing concerns about the cost of the service, how clearly the company explained its technology and the system’s capabilities.
Police Chief Kenneth Fitzgerald said in an August 26 statement that he decided not to renew the contract after reviewing the department’s experience with the company.
Fitzgerald said Flock tried to change some of the terms governing the department’s service and access last year, while the contract was still active. He said that raised concerns about the department’s relationship with the company.
More recently, during a criminal investigation, police learned that a Flock feature called “Free Form” was available through the cameras used by the department.
Flock describes Free Form as an artificial intelligence tool that allows users to search video by typing ordinary, plain-language questions. Fitzgerald said the feature allows searches that go beyond what most people would expect from a system designed to identify license plates.
That discovery concerned Fitzgerald because he had previously told the public that, based on the department’s understanding, its Flock technology was used only to identify license plates.
Fitzgerald said he was not aware of the additional search capabilities and did not believe they had been clearly explained to the department.
Some members of the public had also raised concerns about the technology, Fitzgerald said. Those concerns, along with the department’s concerns about the cost and how the system’s capabilities were communicated, contributed to the decision not to renew the contract.
Ending the agreement could make some police investigations take longer and make it harder to quickly identify vehicles connected to crimes, Fitzgerald said. He acknowledged that the system had been useful in some investigations.
However, Fitzgerald said he was not comfortable continuing the relationship under the current circumstances.
The department will continue responding to pending public records requests involving the technology, Fitzgerald said.
Any Flock cameras that remain visible in Bellingham after the department’s contract ends are privately owned and paid for, according to Fitzgerald. They are not operated or paid for by the Bellingham Police Department.
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