Framingham
The Framingham Flock contract expired on June 30, 2026 and was not renewed.
As of early July, the Flock cameras are still present, deactivated, and awaiting removal, according to:
boston.com: Framingham police will not renew Flock Safety contract after months of resident opposition.
“The decision follows months of advocacy from residents who raised concerns about privacy, surveillance, and data sharing.”
The group Framingham Fights Back played a large role in this monumental victory where residents were able to defeat the surveillance state. It is important to ensure other ALPR and surveillance technologies are not deployed. Working with your representatives to implement a surveillance technology ordinance or similar policy can help prevent use of invasive technology.
History:
Framingham had Flock cameras since 2022. As of June 2026 there were 12 cameras. 10 of these cameras were arranged in a “ring of surveillance” around downtown Framingham. For more than 3 years, 2 of the Framingham cameras were actually installed over the border in Natick.
Ongoing challenges:
A Framingham retailer, Lowe’s, continues to have Flock cameras on their property, as well as the nearby Home Depot in Natick, and there is a trailer-mounted ALPR that surveils route 9 at the Framingham State Police Barracks.
Also of ongoing concern is Framingham’s large web of video surveillance cameras. Many are located at intersections. Crowd-sourced mapping efforts are documenting these cameras — for example: Surveillance Under Surveillance (Framingham)
Note that surveillance-platform vendors such as Flock have capabilities for integrating video surveillance feeds, and performing ALPR and search image processing on that video.
Actions you can take:
Make a public records request regarding surveillance technology and email it to us when you receive a response. This can be done anonymously.
Items to request:
- Contracts, memoranda of understanding, and agreements with Flock Safety and other vendors
- Invoices, purchase orders, and financial records related to surveillance technology acquisition, installation, and maintenance
- Documents identifying the types, locations, and number of surveillance technology installed
- Policies, guidelines, or standard operating procedures regarding the use of surveillance technology and data
- Records of data retention, access logs, and sharing agreements with other agencies
- Usage statistics, reports, or audits related to surveillance technology
Request in electronic format when possible. If any portion is withheld, request that they cite the specific statutory exemption.
If they indicate that items don’t exist, appeal the request as this is a common tactic to obstruct public records request.
Take Action
Join us to promote legislature to ban these unconstitutional platforms. And from a harm reduction standpoint, implement legislature to minimize the scope, amount, and duration during which data is stored.
Spread the word
Meet and discuss with your neighbors to increase awareness.
Adapt your talking points. Don’t start off from a political angle. Identify a reason you think it may concern them – be it concerns of sharing with ICE, constitutional rights violation, the ever expanding power of tech companies over the lives of private citizens, or police spying on their exes.
Speak to your MA House Rep about Bill H.3755
Massachusetts House Bill 3755 is by no means a panacea, but at least some legislators are interested in reigning in the data retention and privacy aspects. Find your House Representative here and contact them about the bill but indicate you are seeking a total ban.
The ACLU also has a tool to automatically email your representatives in support of this bill.
Map missing ALPRs
Find an ALPR not on DeFlock.me’s map? Add it!
Follow instructions here. Not tech savvy? Contact us below. Please take a picture and take note of where the camera was located and we will help you submit.
Contact us
framingham at eyesoffma dot com