Residents demand city, Police Department cancel Flock contract

Our Take

Credit to the New Bedford Light for getting cameras rolling inside the room where it actually matters: a public meeting where residents told their city council and police department, in plain terms, to cancel the Flock Safety contract. This is the unglamorous, essential work of accountability journalism — showing up, documenting the pushback, and putting it in front of people who weren't in the room.

What's happening in New Bedford isn't unique, and that's the point. City after city signs these ALPR contracts quietly, often without real public debate about retention periods, data sharing with other agencies, or what happens when a network built to catch stolen cars gets repurposed for immigration sweeps or tracking people seeking reproductive care out of state. Once residents actually learn what Flock's network does — reading every plate, building a travel history on every driver, regardless of suspicion — the appetite for it tends to sour fast. That's exactly what this meeting looks like.

If you want to know whether your own city has already wired itself into this network, check our camera map. And if New Bedford's residents have you thinking about your own council meeting, our take-action page has the tools to help you organize before the contract renews itself without a fight.