Southwick
Southwick administrator says the town is planning to install Motorola ALPRs soon.
Excerpts from the news articles below:
The Select Board meets Monday night — July 20, 2026 — and this issue is expected to come up (“Vehicle surveillance cameras” on the agenda). The police chief and a sergeant are both planning to be there and residents will have a chance to ask questions and weigh in on this technology.
In October 2025, the Southwick police department received an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant of $29,932, which could be used in a variety of priority crime-fighting areas, including technology upgrades.
On Nov. 3, 2025 the Select Board acknowledged and approved the grant. (See the Select Board recording at around the 18 minute mark.)
Note in the meeting recording that right after the grant was approved unanimously, Select Board member Russ Anderson asked Police Chief Rhett Bannish whether it was for staffing. Bannish, who was sitting in the back of the Town Hall Land Use Room, said, “equipment” without being specific.
“We have not installed them yet,” said Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker on Tuesday. She said the town will be transparent about where the cameras will be installed. “We will let our residents know where they are and when and what they would be used for,” she said. “There will also be a ‘strong policy’ written and approved by the Select Board to regulate their use.” “We will have a strong policy before we use this technology,” she said.
July 2026: Now is the time to speak up: raise your concerns and questions to the Select Board, and request that Southwick discontinue the plans to install and operate automated license plate readers. Interestingly, Southwick’s 2040 Master Plan had an action item recently added (probably no coincidence) for the Police Department to seek grant funding to purchase automatic license plate readers. For a community in the United States, the goal of having a mass surveillance system installed seems inappropriate and out of character for a master plan. Is this really what Southwick residents want? If not, residents should also request that the 2040 Master Plan be corrected to reflect their vision for the community — i.e., remove the license plate reader action item.
In the News
Western Mass News / WGGB:
The Republican / masslive.com:
- Before license plate readers are installed in Southwick, a policy will be written (July 2026)
- Police try to address residents’ concerns regarding automatic license plate readers on town roads (July 2026)
Full versions of the above are available here without paywall — search for “Southwick license plate readers”.
Make a public records request 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
- Invoices, purchase orders, and financial records related to camera acquisition, installation, and maintenance
- Documents identifying the locations and number of Flock Safety cameras installed
- Policies, guidelines, or standard operating procedures regarding the use of Flock Safety cameras and data
- Records of data retention, access logs, and sharing agreements with other agencies
- Usage statistics, reports, or audits related to Flock Safety cameras
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 legislation to ban these unconstitutional platforms. And from a harm reduction standpoint, implement legislation 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.org’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
southwick at eyesoffma dot com