By Sharron Luttrell
Select Board members agreed last night that the town may want to regulate Flock cameras if not outright ban them, but are concerned about rushing a bylaw to voters in time for the Oct. 27 Special Town Meeting.
The deadline to submit a warrant article is Oct. 1. The board asked the General Bylaws Review Committee to research the issue and in the meantime, will pursue a policy governing any future adoption or use of the cameras.
“I find it hard to believe that we’ll be ready for Special Town Meeting with all that’s involved,” Select Board member Brian Morford said. “I think it’s a very complicated issue and really requires a lot of deep thinking.”
While Mendon does not have a contract with Flock Safety or their competitors, residents have raised concerns that the devices infringe on personal privacy. Michael Krager submitted a draft bylaw to ban the cameras, and asked the Select Board to put the issue before Special Town Meeting this fall. Krager is chair of the Finance Committee but was not acting in that capacity when submitting his request.
Roughly 25 municipalities in Massachusetts have either canceled or decided not to renew their contracts with Flock Safety, many in recent weeks.
Police Chief David Kurczy advised against an outright ban, saying he prefers to see how the issue plays out at the state level. A ban could deprive the department of a useful investigative tool should concerns about privacy and abuse be addressed in the future, he said. Kurczy noted that the technology is useful for police investigations, particularly those that demand a quick response, like a suicide threat or abduction.
“In the best-case scenarios, lives have been saved,” he said. “I still think there’s some value in this technology.”
There are 120,000 Flock cameras across the United States. The devices are installed on roadways and parking lots and capture images of vehicles, including license plate, make, model and identifying details, such as damage and bumper stickers. The information goes into a nationwide network that’s searchable by law enforcement.
General Bylaws Review Committee Chair Tom Merolli told the board last night that the committee will hold a public hearing on the issue as part of its bylaw research.
