The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Edison Township officials may reconsider their expansion of Flock Safety surveillance cameras following objections from residents, while a Massachusetts city has fired two police officers for misusing the technology to track people with whom they had personal relationships.
Edison Township Council President Joseph Coyle said he would consider forming a three-member committee to examine residents’ concerns about the cameras following an October 14 Council meeting at which several residents called for the township to reconsider its contract with Flock Safety.
The proposal comes just weeks after the Edison Council voted 6-1 to approve spending nearly $600,000 in asset forfeiture funds on security equipment and services, including additional Flock cameras and a police drone system.
According to township officials cited by MyCentralJersey, Edison plans to increase its number of Flock cameras from approximately 30 to 97.
The developments in Edison come as township residents continue pressing the Township Council to reconsider its Flock contract, citing concerns about privacy, data sharing and the possibility of misuse by law enforcement personnel.
During the Edison meeting, resident John Hsu asked council members whether they would consider canceling the township’s agreement with Flock, according to an October 19 report by Edison-Metuchen Patch.
Hsu raised concerns about the potential use of Flock records to track people attending political demonstrations or visiting abortion clinics, as well as the possibility of federal immigration authorities gaining access to information collected by the cameras.
Other residents questioned whether the Council should have sought public approval before authorizing the expansion.
Resident Patrice Swarbrick suggested that the Council put the expansion on hold, according to MyCentralJersey.
“Pause. Pause the plan,” Swarbrick said.
Councilman Richard Brescher, who cast the lone vote against the September expansion, said the cameras can help police solve crimes but raised concerns about the potential misuse of information collected by the system.
According to Edison-Metuchen Patch, Brescher suggested that the Council consider legislation imposing criminal penalties for improper use of the information, including misuse by Flock itself.
He argued that existing penalties might not be sufficient to discourage abuse and that stronger safeguards were needed.
Brescher also questioned whether the Council had established adequate controls over the information collected by the cameras.
“All we did was we put the machine gun in there, and technically there’s nobody on the controls,” Brescher said, according to Patch.
Coyle defended the cameras’ public safety value, citing automobile thefts and home invasions in the township.
According to MyCentralJersey, a police captain told council members that the cameras are one of several investigative tools used by the department. He said information collected by the cameras is retained for seven days and that the technology does not use facial recognition.
Coyle’s suggestion that he would consider creating a committee to hear residents’ concerns was met with applause, according to the news reports.
No action has been taken to rescind the camera expansion.
Meanwhile, two New Bedford, Massachusetts, police officers were fired October 22 after internal investigations determined they repeatedly used the city’s Flock camera system to track current or former romantic partners.
Officer Emily Pacheco searched her former girlfriend’s license plate more than 650 times and the license plate of the woman’s new romantic partner more than 200 times, according to internal affairs reports obtained by The New Bedford Light.
Sgt. James Marinelli searched his girlfriend’s license plate nearly 70 times, investigators found.
The searches were conducted for personal purposes rather than legitimate police investigations, according to the department.
Mayor Jon Mitchell fired both officers following recommendations made in September by Police Chief Jason Thody.
“Our officers are entrusted with access to sensitive law enforcement information,” Thody said in a statement reported by The New Bedford Light.
Thody said officers are expected to use that information only for legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Mitchell characterized the officers’ conduct as “a breach of public trust,” according to The Light.
Both officers intend to appeal their dismissals, according to statements given to The Light by New Bedford Police Union President Lorenzo Gonzalez.
Gonzalez suggested that lengthy suspensions would have been more appropriate and cited shortcomings in the department’s policies governing automated license plate readers.
The investigations also exposed shortcomings in the department’s oversight of the cameras.
Thody previously acknowledged to The Light that regular audits required under department policy had not been conducted, although supervisory reviews of searches had occurred.
The New Bedford Police Department suspended the use of its 20 Flock cameras August 11 while investigators examined how officers had used the system.
The department confirmed October 23 that it will not renew its contract with Flock, which expires November 12. Written notice of nonrenewal was sent to the company October 8, according to The Light.
The New Bedford City Council also voted 8-3 on October 22 to approve an ordinance prohibiting the city from operating automated license plate readers or renewing contracts for the technology.
A separate audit examining police use of Flock records from December 2024 through December 2025 remains underway.
The controversy in New Bedford is among a growing number of disputes surrounding Flock’s automated license plate readers, which photograph passing vehicles and store identifying information that police can search during investigations.
Police departments have credited the cameras with helping recover stolen vehicles, locate missing people and investigate crimes. Critics contend that the systems also permit widespread tracking of motorists who are not suspected of wrongdoing.
In Quincy, Massachusetts, officials announced October 23 that the city’s 50 Flock cameras had been deactivated and would be replaced with equipment from another company.
Mayor Thomas Koch and Police Chief Mark Kennedy said the city would transition to cameras manufactured by Axis Communications using OdinEye software, allowing the Police Department to maintain sole ownership of the information collected.
The city said its policies restricting searches to active criminal investigations and requiring deletion of information after 14 days would remain in effect.
In a statement reported by The Quincy Sun, Koch described the change as an effort to balance the cameras’ investigative value against residents’ privacy concerns.
The decision followed an 8-1 vote by the Quincy City Council urging the removal of Flock cameras.
In Chicago, police announced October 23 that the department’s internal affairs bureau was investigating whether officers improperly searched license plate information collected by outside law enforcement agencies.
According to WTTW News, the department also ordered an audit of previous searches of outside databases and restricted access to officers whose duties require use of the systems.
Chicago does not operate its own Flock camera network, but its officers can access information collected by participating departments elsewhere.
The investigation has not resulted in any announced findings of misconduct.
The developments elsewhere have particular relevance for Franklin, where Township Councilman Shubhendu Singh called October 13 for a public review of the township’s Flock program and another Council vote on its future.
The Franklin Council has not announced a new vote on the contract.
