AUBURN – The Police Department will sever its relationship with the controversial surveillance company Flock Safety, making it the third Central Massachusetts department to do so in the last week .
The department, which announced the decision in a social media post Tuesday, Aug. 25, said the decision followed a "contractual defect" with the Georgia-based manufacturer.
Police Chief Scott Mills could not be immediateley reached to elaborate on the specifics of the "defect."
Mills previously told the Telegram & Gazette that he thought the surveillance cameras could be a powerful investigative tool but that he would be continually evaluating its effectiveness and the community backlash.
The Grafton Police Department said Aug. 21 it would deactivate the town's automated license plate readers, which also note a vehicles make, model and color. Days later, the Douglas Police Department also said it would be ditching the technology.
The string of announcements are indicative of a growing list of controversies that have plagued Flock Safety since the company began signing contracts with law enforcement agencies across the state and country.
In recent weeks, three Massachusetts police departments including Stow have placed officers on leave for misusing the Flock Camera database, in some cases to track former romantic partners. The cases added fuel to an already growing uneasiness with the technology which opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say is ripe for abuse.
The backlash has reached a head in some communities with residents vandalizing the camera set ups. In Douglas, three of the town's seven license plate readers were destroyed in a two week window, according to Police Chief Nick Miglionico.
Either conceding that the technology jeopardizes their residents' privacy or in a seeming effort to mitigate the divisiveness that has surrounded Flock, departments have been breaking with the surveillance corporation in droves.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Auburn latest police department to drop Flock surveillance cameras