SPRINGFIELD — The controversy over automated license plate readers that has embroiled communities across the country came to Springfield on Oct. 5 when several residents spoke against the use of such technology before the City Council. The sound of people chanting on the steps of City Hall carried into the council chambers, and the protestors from DeFlock Holyoke-Springfield later stood at the rear of the room holding signs that read, “No AI Surveillance” and “Big Brother is For Profit.”
Springfield is one of dozens of communities in Massachusetts that has contracted with Flock Safety, the largest an ALPR company in the United States. Organizations, including mytownview.com and deflock.com, estimate Springfield has about 50 ALPR in use. The cameras, equipped with artificial intelligence, capture images of license plates, as well as the make, model and color of vehicles.
While the APLRs are widely in use in the state, a growing number of residents have expressed concerns that the cameras’ ability to track the travel of individual vehicles can be used for surveillance of protestors, stalking and targeting marginalized communities. More than 30 communities have ended pilots, not renewed contracts or physically removed the cameras in recent months because of public pushback.
During the City Council meeting, Nathan Albright said he passes eight ALPRs while bringing his daughter to school, each one recording his vehicle’s whereabouts. He said Flock’s database is vulnerable to cyberattacks. He urged the city to stop integrating daily operations with AI technology.
Terry Owens said Mayor Domenic Sarno assured her that the ALPRs are for safety and that there are “guardrails” in place to prevent unauthorized access. However, Owens said that, as a for profit company, the idea of guardrails is “part of their sales pitch.” She said, “Flock is violating our Fourth Amendment right to privacy.” While being questioned by the Agawam City Council in June, Flock Safety Public Affairs Manager Karl Bach said appellate courts have ruled multiple times that license plate information obtained in public is a lawful method of gathering information and not a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
“ALPRs like Flock are tools for authoritarianism,” said Owens. “When the government can track where you and I go, whether to a church, a civic group or a protest, it has a chilling effect of democracy.”
Kenneth Averet said ALPRs capture the movements of people who have done nothing wrong. “The question is not whether police might sometimes solve a case using this technology,” he said. “The question is whether that benefit justifies an infrastructure that tracks the innocent public at scale.” He cited the search of 4,800 Flock cameras, including those in Holyoke by police in Midland, Texas, with the recorded purpose of “immigration — assist ICE.” He said this type of activity causes immigrants to shrink from civic life and distrust the police.
Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Govan said she has written an ordinance regulating the use of ALPRs in Springfield. The proposal will be discussed at the Oct. 19 City Council meeting.
“I agree that we have to find a happy medium between our privacy and public safety,” said Govan. She recognized the historical use of such technology to further marginalize members of the community.
City Council President Tracye Whitfield praised the people who spoke before the council. “This is how you advocate. A lot of times, we don’t know some of the issues that’s going on,” she said. “Advocacy is important … We are hearing you. We are listening.”
