Two Lynn police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the department investigates their alleged misuse of license plate reader technology, in a growing wave of controversy over Flock Safety surveillance cameras, a department spokesperson said.
Police departments in New Bedford and Stow also have faced issues with Flock Safety technology with two officers accused of accessing the system to look up personal information about a victim and an ex-girlfriend.
The technology is supposed to be used only for “legitimate law enforcement purposes,” a Lynn police spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
“The Department is committed to maintaining that standard and holding accountable anyone who fails to comply with it,” the statement said. “We also recognize that the use of this technology must be guided by clear policies, regular audits, and ongoing review to ensure compliance with legal, ethical, and operational standards.”
The department is in the process of overhauling its Flock system policies and has restricted its use to supervisors holding the rank of lieutenant or higher, the statement said.
Flock’s automated cameras use AI to convert information recorded about license plates into searchable data, according to the company’s website.
The cameras are a beneficial tool and have been used to solve homicide investigations, hit and runs, and other crimes, Lynn police said.
On Aug. 12, when the department conducted an audit of its Flock system it “identified anomalies” and “a concerning pattern” in some of the searches, the spokesperson said.
As a result, two officers were placed on paid administrative leave and an Internal Affairs investigation was initiated.
The statement did not identify the officers or provide details about their alleged searches in the system.
None of the questionable searches involved immigration enforcement, the department’s spokesperson said.
“The Lynn Police Department is committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation to determine all relevant facts before reaching any conclusions,” the statement said. “If it is determined that an officer conducted searches in violation of Department policy, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
The steady rise of the use of Flock Safety cameras by local police along public roads has triggered a backlash over privacy and civil liberty concerns, the Globe reported.
Some of the concern stems from law enforcement, such as federal immigration agents, who have been able to access and share information from the cameras without first getting a warrant.
There is a budding grassroots movement to have communities reevaluate their relationships with Flock, and, in some cases, remove the cameras. At least nine of the roughly 106 communities in Massachusetts that contract with Flock have recently cut ties after residents complained, including Cambridge, Framingham, and Salem. More are debating following suit. Boston had a brief pilot with Flock but did not extend it.
Earlier this month, the Stow Police Department cut its ties with Flock Safety after determining an officer used the system to find personal information about a victim in a case he was working on. The department is seeking to terminate the officer.
In New Bedford, a police officer is under internal investigation for allegedly using the city’s Flock Safety camera system to track her former girlfriend.
Last week, police in New Bedford announced that they were temporarily suspending their use of Flock technology to review the department’s use of the cameras.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.