LIVE: Quincy City Council Public Hearing & Oversight Committee - October 5, 2026

Executive Summary

On October 6, 2026, the Quincy City Council Oversight Committee convened a public hearing and committee meeting regarding Council Order 2026-104 to review the Quincy Police Department's use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology. Over a dozen residents offered public testimony overwhelmingly in opposition to the cameras, citing mass surveillance, civil liberty infringements, data security vulnerabilities, and vendor unreliability. The committee subsequently received presentations from Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, ACLU Policy Counsel Gideon Epstein, Northeastern University Professor Matthew Ross, systems engineer Brian Hurley, and civic researcher Maxfield Capron. Discussion centered on department policy safeguards, historical audit log deficiencies, contractual data licensing rights, and the efficacy of ALPR systems in criminal investigations versus constitutional privacy protections.

Opening Remarks and Committee Call to Order

Committee Chairman David Jacobs called the public hearing to order at 6:00 p.m. to review Council Order 2026-104 regarding the City of Quincy's use of Flock Safety technology.
The chair outlined the proceedings, allocating 45 minutes for public testimony with provisions for time extensions, followed by presentations from invited guests and City Council questioning.
The chair introduced invited guests: Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy, Captain Ward, Lieutenant Faherty, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, ACLU Policy Counsel Gideon Epstein, Northeastern University Professor Matthew Ross, systems engineer Brian Hurley, and civic researcher Maxfield Capron.
Committee and council attendance noted during opening introductions included Councilors David Jacobs, Virginia Ryan, Richard Ash, Susan Yuan, Deborah Riley, Anne Mahoney, and Walter Hubley, as well as Mayor's Chief of Staff Christopher Walker. Councilors Maggie McKee and Noel DiBona arrived later in the meeting.

Public Hearing on Flock Safety ALPR Technology (Council Order 2026-104)

Numerous members of the public provided testimony regarding Council Order 2026-104, expressing significant opposition to the Flock ALPR camera network:
1. A public commenter and veteran stated that ALPR systems facilitate federal dragnet surveillance and run counter to constitutional protections and the Massachusetts Protect Act, remarking, "If the mayor has no problem with our city aiding and abetting the Trump administration's domestic agenda, I would prefer he state that plainly instead of obfuscating and hiding behind ALPR industry talking points."
2. A public commenter with enterprise IT and closed surveillance experience emphasized that Flock's cloud-based wireless model is inherently insecure compared to closed-circuit local systems, noting that data sent over cellular networks to Amazon Web Services exposes city records to vendor mismanagement.
3. A public commenter and criminal defense attorney raised Fourth Amendment concerns under Commonwealth v. McCarthy, arguing that Quincy's dense camera network constitutes warrantless tracking that could lead to evidence suppression and dismissed criminal prosecutions.
4. A public commenter highlighted historical origins of search and seizure protections in Quincy under John Adams, objecting to cameras positioned near historic landmarks and cemeteries.
5. Multiple public commenters raised cybersecurity risks, potential vendor data leaks, stalking risks, and environmental impacts of large-scale AI data centers hosting camera feeds.
6. A public commenter noted that neighboring municipalities have terminated contracts with Flock Safety due to unauthorized data sharing and lack of public oversight, advocating for an immediate municipal ban.
Vote on Time Extension: Upon reaching the initial 45-minute limit, Chairman Jacobs called for a voice vote to extend the hearing to accommodate the nine remaining registered speakers. The outcome was declared: "The ayes have it."
Remaining public commenters continued testimony, recommending that cameras be removed or covered ("bagged") immediately, criticizing Flock's corporate ethics, and arguing that public funds would be better directed toward hiring sworn detectives rather than automated surveillance.
Chairman Jacobs recessed the public hearing to convene the Oversight Committee panel.

Oversight Committee Roll Call and Formal Opening

Chairman Jacobs formally called the Oversight Committee hearing to order pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
The clerk called the committee roll:
- Present: Councilor Riley, Councilor Ryan, Councilor Yuan, Chairman Jacobs.
The committee proceeded to invited witness presentations.

Quincy Police Department Presentation on ALPR Operations and Safeguards

Chief of Police Mark Kennedy, accompanied by Captain Ward and Lieutenant Faherty, provided an operational overview and history of ALPR usage in Quincy:
- Quincy Police have utilized ALPR technology since approximately 2011, initially via cruiser trunk-mounted units, before transitioning to fixed Flock Safety cameras in 2020.
- Department safeguards evolved following internal reviews and discussions with residents: an initial ALPR policy was issued January 15, 2026; user training was conducted March 13, 2026; nationwide and external agency data sharing was completely disabled on August 6, 2026; and data retention was reduced from 30 days to 14 days.
- Access is restricted to 48 authorized personnel out of 234 officers (command staff, detectives, and analysts) utilizing two-factor authentication.
- Searches require mandatory input of an offense category, specific justification, and a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) case number.
- Chief Kennedy demonstrated the user interface, noting that Flock does not possess Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) records; officers must separately query the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) to establish vehicle ownership.
- Inventory and budget: Quincy operates 50 Flock units—49 fixed ALPR cameras placed at major ingress and egress arterial routes, and one live-streaming Condor camera on Ricciuti Drive targeting illegal dumping. Operating costs run approximately $3,000 per camera annually (~$150,000 total), with 75% funded through Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants and the remainder paid from the municipal police budget.
- In the preceding 30 days, 689,431 vehicle captures occurred in Quincy, resulting in 76 internal investigative queries, with non-flagged footage purged automatically.

Presentation by Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey

District Attorney Michael Morrissey spoke in support of maintaining ALPR technology as an investigative tool for law enforcement:
- Clarified that ALPR evidence does not independently convict defendants, but functions as electronic leads alongside other digital footprints such as cellular geolocation and transit footage.
- Emphasized that unauthorized or improper database queries carry severe criminal liabilities, including potential incarceration and mandatory forfeiture of public pensions.
- Detailed specific Norfolk County cases aided by ALPR technology:
  1. Identifying a suspect vehicle and license plate after an assault captured on MBTA cameras, allowing officers to apprehend the perpetrator in Wollaston.
  2. Tracing vehicles involved in a fatal gang- and drug-related shooting at a Quincy apartment garage back to commercial surveillance cameras.
  3. Assisting state and local police in tracking a vehicle linked to the homicide of an MIT professor in Brookline through camera reads in Waltham, leading to the recovery of evidence in New Hampshire.

Presentation by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts

Gideon Epstein, Policy Counsel with the ACLU of Massachusetts Technology for Liberty program, presented arguments in favor of a comprehensive local ban on ALPR and surveillance technologies:
- Reported on statewide public records audits revealing that over 80 Massachusetts police departments had contracted with Flock Safety, with standard contracts defaulting to nationwide inter-agency data sharing.
- Highlighted instances of improper usage across various jurisdictions, noting audit entries with vague search reasons such as "investigation" or "wanted" that circumvent accountability.
- Addressed legal precedents, citing Carpenter v. United States and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court precedent in Commonwealth v. McCarthy, which warned that extensive, interconnected ALPR networks constitute a constitutional search requiring a warrant.
- Pointed to a recent federal court decision in Oklahoma ruling that warrantless retrospective ALPR queries violate Fourth Amendment privacy rights.
- Stated that machine error rates (noted around 7% misreads by federal estimates) lead to false-positive vehicle stops.
- Urged the City Council to adopt a binding surveillance technology ordinance requiring explicit council approval prior to procuring or deploying algorithmic monitoring systems.

Academic and Economic Evaluation of ALPR Technology

Matthew Ross, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Northeastern University, testified regarding empirical studies and cost-benefit frameworks:
- Noted that Flock operates on a commercial model leveraging low hardware entry costs to assemble aggregated datasets, with commercial aspirations expanding into facial recognition.
- Evaluated academic literature, reporting that only one rigorous independent study exists (Mortgos & Adams), which showed modest decreases in motor vehicle theft (~~10%) and property crime (~~5%), but found no empirical evidence demonstrating significant impact on clearing or reducing violent crime.
- Outlined the policing input framework consisting of manpower, technology, and community trust, warning that deploying surveillance technologies lacking proven efficacy risks eroding community cooperation and public trust.

Technical Assessment of Vendor Contract and Data Ownership

Brian Hurley, systems engineer and Quincy resident, reviewed the technical terms of the Flock Safety Customer Agreement:
- Cited Section 1.2 and Section 4.2, highlighting that while Quincy owns its raw data, the city grants Flock an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute agency content as aggregated data.
- Pointed to Section 4.4, noting that the agreement permits Flock to compile anonymized data to train proprietary artificial intelligence models and support marketing efforts, without establishing specific contractual standards or technical safeguards for data de-identification or redaction.

Independent Audit Findings of Quincy ALPR Records

Maxfield Capron presented findings from an independent data analysis examining two public records releases of Quincy Police Flock logs spanning January 2023 through September 2026:
- Discrepancies were identified between overlapping data releases; for example, total logged network queries for January 2026 varied between 610,226 in one export and 601,599 in another, with internal QPD searches shifting from 682 to 653.
- From January 2023 through February 2025, 0% of internal Quincy searches contained a recorded case number, with only 1.7% compliance documented in March 2025 prior to recent policy mandates.
- Review of historical hotlist and search logs revealed inappropriate entries and absence of standard case files, citing entries containing vulgarities, arbitrary text (e.g., "I am cool"), and insensitive descriptions.

Council Inquiries and Oversight Committee Discussion

Committee members questioned presenters and command staff on system administration and legal oversight:
- Auditing and Verification: Councilor Hubley and Councilor McKee questioned the verification of CAD case numbers. Chief Kennedy clarified that automated flags occur if identical plates are queried under multiple case numbers or across disparate timeframes, and Captain Mike Miller conducts monthly reviews of all search logs.
- Data Privacy and System Configuration: In response to questions from Councilor Yuan and Council President Mahoney, Chief Kennedy affirmed that Quincy's ALPR system is configured as closed, preventing external access by federal immigration authorities in compliance with state law. Outside agency assistance requires formal written requests approved by a supervisory lieutenant or captain.
- Vendor Integrity and Data Breaches: Council President Mahoney raised concerns regarding a delayed security disclosure issued by Flock on September 22, 2026, regarding mapping vulnerabilities identified in late 2025. Chief Kennedy reiterated that data on AWS servers is permanently deleted after 14 days and contains only images and license plates, not driver registry profiles.
- Hardware Placement and Bus Patrol Program: Chairman Jacobs and Councilor Ryan clarified device counts, confirming 49 fixed ALPR cameras and one Condor unit. Separate school bus stop-arm cameras operated via BusPatrol were identified as independent traffic enforcement devices governed through the school department.
- Policy Proposals: Councilor Yuan proposed that the City of Quincy immediately terminate its contract with Flock Safety, dismantle the existing cameras, and require City Council authorization and public hearings before entering agreements with any future ALPR vendors.
- Contractual and Lease Commitments: Council President Mahoney noted that camera units are leased, meaning potential cancellation requires legal and financial review of remaining contractual payout terms.

Adjournment of Oversight Committee and Conclusion of Public Hearing

Adjournment of Oversight Committee: At 10:30 p.m., Councilor Hubley moved to adjourn the Oversight Committee meeting, seconded by Councilor Riley. The meeting was adjourned.
Closure of Public Hearing: Chairman Jacobs briefly reconvened the public hearing on Council Order 2026-104. With no further speakers, Councilor Hubley moved to close the public hearing, which was seconded and concluded without objection.