Surveillance Technology and Flock License Plate Readers

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names, numbers and addresses may be misheard.

What: the surveillance technology ordinance (item 341-26) hearing, the Lawrence Police Department Flock safety camera proposal (412-26), and a 90-day PlateRanger license plate reader pilot (408-26).
Where it stands: 341-26 was tabled after a presentation of about 415 city cameras and 35 Flock readers, plus 53 cameras run by IT, with no policy yet for video requests. The PlateRanger pilot was approved unanimously. Item 412-26 stays in the Public Safety and Emergency Management Committee, where the committee plans to revisit it.
Open question: a policy governing who may request and review video.

Sources

Log

2026-10-28 - Public Safety Committee - Item 412/26 (Flock Safety cameras) listed as tabled business on the committee agenda.
2026-10-20 - City Council - Tabled 341-26 surveillance ordinance; approved the 90-day PlateRanger pilot unanimously; 412-26 Flock kept in committee.
2026-10-15 - Personnel and Budget and Finance Committee - Budget and Finance Committee heard the SoundThinking Plate Ranger pilot (item 408-26): 10 solar fixed cameras, 90 days at no cost, closed local data with no national network sharing, mandatory search justification and audit trail. Police said Flock remains in use and the pilot runs alongside it. A councilor noted the technology falls under the surveillance ordinance (9.25) and a public hearing was set for the following Tuesday. Sent to the full council with a favorable recommendation.
2026-10-14 - Public Safety Committee - Item 412-26: police briefed the Public Safety Committee on the 35 Flock cameras (leased since March 2021, still photos of vehicle rears searchable for 30 days, permanent user logs, multi-factor logins, required case number, reason and offense type, monthly audits). They said a 359-search complaint from a Methuen councilor was a misunderstanding: the plate was searched once, the 359 was the officer's two-year search total. Police said they do not cooperate on immigration cases. A new vendor (Plate Ranger) was to present the next day. The item was tabled.
2026-10-06 - City Council - Flock Safety cameras and the license plate reader pilot were referred to committee.