Medford City Council Committee Meetings PHCS, 6/16/26

The City of Medford, Massachusetts Public Health and Community Safety Committee convened on June 16, 2026, to review the 2025 annual surveillance report submitted by Chief Buckley. The report focused on the use and oversight of police surveillance technologies, primarily body-worn cameras, GPS tracking, facial recognition, and data from external camera networks such as Flock. Chief Buckley detailed the department's compliance with legal requirements, audit processes, and policies regarding data access, retention, and redaction. The committee and public raised questions about privacy protections, complaint procedures, and the use of surveillance data in misconduct investigations. While no violations were reported in the audits, concerns were expressed about transparency and the need for more detailed reporting on special notification forms and demographic impacts. The discussion also clarified that the department does not own GPS trackers and that external data is accessed under existing criminal investigation authorities. No new procurement or contract decisions were made during the meeting.