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# Records Show Six Flock Cameras in Pembroke, Paid for with Forfeiture Funds
- URL: https://pembrokecitizenjournal.com/public-safety/six-flock-cameras-in-pembroke/
- Published: 2026-09-11T19:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T19:30:14.000Z
- Description: Documents released to PCJ under the state public records law detail a two-year, $36,000 contract with Flock Safety and six camera locations.
- Author: Will Tavares
- Tags: Public Safety

The Pembroke Police Department operates six fixed location automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras under a two-year contract with Flock Safety, paid for with narcotics forfeiture money, according to records obtained by the Pembroke Citizen Journal.

Pembroke Police Chief Wendy LaPierre responded to the public records request releasing the contract, invoices, a department expense list, the department's use policy, a list of camera locations and screenshots from the system's dashboard.

The agreement is an order form between Flock Group Inc. of Atlanta, which does business as Flock Safety, and the Pembroke Police Department. Executed on June 30, 2025, it was signed for the town by Richard MacDonald, then chief of police. The order form lists six solar powered, cellular-connected license plate reader units and sets an initial term of 24 months renewing automatically unless either party gives notice. The agreement also establishes a data retention period of 30 days. The cost of the agreement was $18,000 per year, for a total of $36,000.

According to the records, the cameras are situated at the following locations. These are the labels assigned in the department's system. PCJ has not independently confirmed the physical position of each camera.

- Church Street at Old Oak Street Extension
- Columbia Road at North River
- Center Street at Mattakeesett Street
- School Street at Main Street
- Washington Street at Congress Street
- Pembroke Street at Station Street

A department expense list shows two payments to Flock Safety totaling $23,000, both charged to a line item identified as forfeiture money. When asked about funding, Chief LaPierre wrote that the units "were leased with narcotic forfeiture money."

Money forfeited in drug cases is governed by M.G.L. c. 94C § 47\. In accordance with state law, proceeds received by any police department are deposited into a special law enforcement trust fund and shall be expended without further appropriation for purposes including additional technical equipment or other law enforcement purposes the chief of police considers appropriate. A purchase made from that fund does not require a Town Meeting vote.

## How the cameras work

![Flock camera mounted on Columbia Road near the North River](https://cdn.synaps.media/pembrokenews/content/images/2026/09/FlockCameraColumbiaRoad.jpg)

Flock camera mounted on Columbia Road near the North River. **Photo by Will Tavares*

Flock sells its cameras to both public and private entities, including municipalities, law enforcement agencies, neighborhoods, private companies and landowners. Its license plate readers photograph passing vehicles and convert the plate into searchable text, along with details specific to an individual vehicle. Law enforcement can use this information to search for leads when investigating crimes. Flock's site describes the product as offering AI-powered historical searches and results, customizable hotlist alerts based on a vehicle meeting certain parameters, and a nationwide network of agency-controlled cameras.

Flock describes its ALPR cameras on its website as being capable of capturing vehicles traveling up to 100mph, day or night, from up to 75 feet away. They capture 6-12 images of a vehicle per pass and use machine learning to classify make, model, color, plate type and visible damage or alterations such as broken taillights or aftermarket wheels - generating what Flock calls a "Vehicle Signature."

Flock Safety's platform allows a law enforcement agency to control how data collected by its cameras can be accessed by other law enforcement agencies. Departments have the option to share their camera data with no other department, with specific named departments, with all departments in their state, or across the national network. Access to nationwide plate searches is limited to agencies that agree to share their own data in return, and Flock told Congress in 2025 that about 75 percent of its law enforcement customers had opted into the national tool. Each department sets its own participation setting. The records released to PCJ do not indicate which sharing option the department has selected.

## The policy

The department's ALPR policy, signed by Chief LaPierre, states that the system uses Flock Safety technology and sets retention at 30 days, consistent with the contract. It states that the department considers ALPR a valuable investigative tool that enhances public safety through timely identification of stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing persons and vehicles associated with criminal investigations, and recognizes an obligation to protect constitutional rights and personal privacy.

Access is restricted to sworn officers, detectives and supervisors who must complete department training and use individual logins. The policy lists authorized uses to include stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing or endangered persons, AMBER and Silver alerts, felony and violent crime investigations and hit-and-run investigations. It prohibits any personal, political or commercial uses or to monitor family members, neighbors or coworkers.

The policy says ALPR information may be shared only with criminal justice agencies, prosecutors, courts, mutual aid partners and agencies participating in approved information sharing agreements, and states that data related to immigration and reproductive care searches will not be provided. When asked if there were any data-sharing agreements in place, Chief LaPierre wrote, "We do not have a Data Sharing agreement."

Monthly audits of user logins, search activity, search justification, unauthorized access attempts and alert responses are required by the policy. In addition, the chief or a designee must perform an administrative review covering compliance, training, data sharing, and audit findings annually.

The copy released to PCJ contains no date, version number or revision history, so the records do not establish when it took effect.

## What the system recorded

Analytics screenshots from the Flock system dashboard released to PCJ show an average of about 26,000 unique vehicles each day between July 15 and August 13, 2026 across the department's six cameras. The dashboard reports 231,890 "unique vehicles" for the full period. The two figures are not additive - a vehicle recorded on twenty different days counts once in the period total and twenty times across the daily counts. The records do not clarify how the system counts a vehicle as unique or whether a vehicle passing by more than one camera is counted more than once.

Since the cameras sit on routes that carry commuter and through traffic, these figures are not a count of everyone who lives in Pembroke. The records do not show how many of the vehicles identified by Flock algorithms belong to Pembroke residents.

A separate screenshot breaks down 252 searches by offense type. Traffic infractions were the largest category at 67 searches (26.6%), followed by destruction, damage or vandalism of property at 60 (23.8%), larceny and theft at 34 (13.5%), and hit-and-run or car accident at 28 (11%). The screenshot does not display the time period in which those searches took place.

## The town's response

PCJ also requested records from Town Manager William Chenard for anything not held by the police department. Chenard responded that a search of the town's records found nothing responsive, and that any records would be held by the Pembroke Police Department. The request had specifically asked about procurement and purchasing records, Select Board or Town Meeting materials referencing the system, and records concerning the use of forfeiture funds.

A presentation and discussion on the Flock camera system was initially scheduled for the Select Board's August 26 agenda, but was postponed to September 23, as PCJ [reported earlier this month](https://pembrokecitizenjournal.com/town-hall/flock-camera-presentation-delayed/).