Joint Meeting of Legal Affairs / Public Services / Committee of the Whole 10/19/2026

The Joint Meeting of Legal Affairs, Public Services, and the Committee of the Whole of BevCam Government was held October 19, 2026, to hear public comments and question city officials about Beverly’s use of Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Residents raised concerns about privacy, constitutional rights, inaccurate plate reads, potential misuse of data, security vulnerabilities, and sharing information across jurisdictions. The police chief and a Flock administrator described the cameras’ investigative and emergency-response uses, access controls, audits, and the department’s transparency portal. Police officials said Beverly currently shares data with Massachusetts agencies, and the department retains camera data for 30 days while considering reducing that period to seven days; officials agreed to follow up on how long Flock retains data.

The chief said Beverly has four cameras, at an annual cost of about $3,000 each—approximately $12,000 per year—with the expense paid from the police budget. The current contract expires in mid-November, specifically November 13, and officials said no decision had been made about renewal. Council members asked about costs, audits, access, retention, and the city’s renewal rationale, but no contract award, renewal, cancellation, or other procurement vote was taken. The chair noted that contracting decisions rest with the mayor, while the council can continue to raise residents’ concerns and advocate for follow-up.