Facts and observations

Flock, with the knowledge of the Agawam Police Department, started installing Flock ALPR (Automated License Plate Reader) cameras in Agawam in March 2026. There is no record of community engagement, or any public announcement of either the contract or the deployment of the surveillance technology.

Our problem is not with Agawam PD; they kept Agawam safe long before Flock came knocking. Our opposition is to Flock and their invasive mass-surveillance technology. Flock puts intimate data of almost every Agawam resident, business owner, customer, and visitor in the hands of unknown third parties, free to do with it what they please. This is a massive violation of privacy for regular, law-abiding residents, and a challenge to our Fourth Amendment protections.

There is no Agawam Flock “Transparency Portal”. At the June 15, 2026, City Council meeting, Agawam PD indicated that Agawam Flock data is shared with other police departments in a 50-mile radius.

Flock “Transparency Portals” show that Agawam PD receives Flock data from numerous other police departments in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. This includes in Mass.: Norwell, Tewksbury, Waltham, and Weymouth. In Conn.: Cheshire, Clinton, Newtown, and Putnam. In New York: Cheektowaga, East Hampton, Hamburg, Saratoga Springs. In July 2026 the Boston Globe reported that Tewksbury, MA, PD had recently started sharing their Flock data with Agawam PD (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/30/business/flock-safety-cameras-pushback-massachusetts/). This suggests that Agawam is likely to reciprocate (now or in the future) and share Agawam data with other PDs. Note that only a small fraction of Flock customers enable a Flock “Transparency Portal” so the actual set of shared-with parties is likely much larger.

The DeFlock.org map below shows crowdsourced locations of known ALPRs in Agawam.

The Police Chief stated that 5 cameras were operational as of June 15, 2026. The locations of 5 cameras are known to be: at the intersections of Bridge Street and River Street, Springfield Street and Suffield Street, and North Westfield Street and North West Street, on Main Street within 100 feet of the Conn. border, and adjacent to the offramp from Route 5 North to the Route 57 Rotary. These 5 locations are pictured in order in the image at the top of this page.

Two of these cameras appear to be installed on private property: The camera on Main Street on Six Flags property, and the camera near the Route 57 rotary mounted on a sign on the property of 584 Meadow Street.

The source of funding used to bring Agawam Flock cameras into the community was a Casino Mitigation Fund state grant request in 2025. The grant request initially did not have the line item; it was appended later. See pdf. The grant line item was quietly requested by the PD, the grant was sponsored by the mayor’s office, was approved by the grant commission, and approved by Agawam City Council in September 2025 (see Agawam resolution TR-2025-67). A contract for 6 Flock Falcon cameras was (quietly) signed in September 2025. There was no apparent public knowledge of, or participation in, the grant request process, the approvals by Agawam elected officials, and the camera installations that began in March 2026.

Other communities take note: Agawam’s experience is similar to what has occurred time and time again in some other cities and towns, where Flock cameras are installed without community knowledge or consent, with the quiet involvement and approvals of elected or appointed officials, and paid for by “free” money from a state grant outside of the regular budget process and oversight.

It is not currently known if Agawam has other previous/existing MOUs, agreements, or contracts with Flock.

What the Flock?!

Video series by Councilor Christine Rickmon

• Introduction to the Series – Video 1 – FB
• How we know this is more than a license plate reader – Video 2 – FB
• What was given away to get the product – Video 3 – FB
• How this affects residents – Video 4 – FB
• Flock as a company and whose money is funding it – Video 5 – FB
• What you can do and resources – Video 6 – FB
• After the Series – Flock – FB
• Flock’s defense that “you don’t have an expectation of privacy in public” is something I think our founders would strongly disagree with – FB
• We’re being told Flock cameras are taking still images of the back of our cars
• Claims about percentage of crimes solved

These are tiktok video links. A tiktok account is not required. Facebook Reels links are also available for many of the videos – the “FB” links. A Facebook account is not required (cancel the Facebook login dialog to see the video).