GROTON, Mass.- Groton will end its contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate reader cameras while town officials work on a new long-term plan for the technology.
Town Manager Mark Haddad and Police Chief Michael Luth announced the decision Monday, Aug. 31, after several weeks of reviewing the town’s use of the cameras.
The current contract will end immediately. The town’s Police Camera Working Group will continue studying the cameras and plans to present a recommendation to voters at the Spring 2027 Town Meeting.
“These cameras have been a genuinely valuable tool for our officers, and they have helped us solve real cases and keep our residents safer,” Luth said. “But we’ve also listened carefully to the concerns raised by our community, and we recognize that trust and transparency have to come first. Stepping back now gives us the room to build something better, together.”
The working group has been looking at how the cameras are used, their benefits, and concerns from residents about privacy and how the system is overseen.
The town said its goal is to develop a plan that addresses those concerns and includes input from the community.
“This isn’t a step away from public safety, and it isn’t a step away from supporting our Police Department,” Haddad said. “It’s a decision to slow down, do this right, and come back to Town Meeting with a solution that the community can have real confidence in.”
Haddad also said he remains a strong supporter of the Police Department and its work.
Ending the contract before the Fall Town Meeting will allow the working group to continue its work without having to deal with a contested vote, town officials said.
The group will meet over the coming months and give residents opportunities to provide input before the Spring 2027 Town Meeting. The town said updates will be posted on its website and through the Police Department’s social media channels.
Groton’s decision comes as other Massachusetts communities have also ended or declined to renew their Flock Safety contracts.
The town identified Easton, Littleton, Cambridge, Watertown, Framingham, Natick, Brookline, Salem, Hopkinton, Wellesley, Bellingham, Douglas, Grafton and East Bridgewater as communities that have recently ended, declined to renew or otherwise terminated their contracts.
According to Groton officials, those communities have raised concerns about privacy, sharing data outside Massachusetts and how the cameras are overseen.
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