Methuen Mayor Dave Beauregard has announced that despite his previous support for FLOCK Cameras with AI, facial recognition and license plate readers, he has “halted the installation of all remaining Flock automated license plate reader cameras and initiated a comprehensive audit of Methuen’s use of the technology.”
The mayor’s change of position comes less than a few months after he and the city council approved funding for more FLOCK cameras in Methuen.
The Valley Patriot has long been blowing the alarm bells on public surveillance by local governements in the Merrimack Valley, most recently with an editorial last October that was largely ignored by local officials called “Creeping Fascism at the Local Level, You Are NOT Paying Attention!”
Now it seems that at least one mayor in The Valley has taken heed to our warnings about government overreach.
“Methuen’s planned Flock camera network has not been fully deployed. No additional Flock cameras will be installed,” Methuen Mayor Beauregard stated in a press release sent to The Valley Patriot on Saturday adding that he has called for an audit of city’s surveillance system and will be asking the council to revise the city’s policies.
“The ongoing audit is examining how information is retained and shared, which outside agencies have access, and whether existing safeguards adequately protect residents’ privacy and constitutional rights. Access to the system and outside data sharing are being restricted while that work continues.”
There is currently no known evidence that Methuen personnel have misused the system. Nevertheless, the City has an obligation to examine not only its own practices, but also the risks created when outside agencies operate under different rules and standards.”
According to the press release The City of Methuen has already taken the following steps:
• Updated the Methuen Police Department’s general order regarding Flock to further restrict the use of the system;
• Limited access to supervisors, detectives, and system administrators;
• Required all requests to use the Flock system to be directed to a supervisor or detective;
• Required users to provide an offense type, case number, and reason for every search; and
• Strictly prohibited the sharing of Flock user credentials.
New technology can provide real public safety benefits, but we can’t sleepwalk into a surveillance state. Protecting privacy and upholding constitutional rights must be paramount. The people of Methuen deserve to know how this system is being used, who has access to it, and what safeguards are in place.
Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) can help locate missing or abducted children and vulnerable missing persons, recover stolen vehicles, identify vehicles connected to serious crimes, and respond to imminent threats.
Their potential value was demonstrated close to home during the investigation following the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor. Flock detections helped investigators identify the suspect’s rental vehicle, and the five-day manhunt ultimately led investigators to a storage facility just across the Methuen line in Salem, New Hampshire.
At the same time, the City is examining the protections in place for ALPR data generated by Flock’s systems. Such data should be owned and controlled by the City and used only in furtherance of Methuen’s public safety priorities. Any ALPR system used in Methuen should assist the Police Department in keeping all people safe while ensuring that the City retains local control of its data.
To that end, we are seriously exploring a transition from Flock to a different ALPR system that would preserve this important investigative capability while providing stronger local ownership and control of data.
Any replacement would be required to meet Methuen’s standards for privacy, constitutional protections, access, auditing, data retention, and information sharing. No final decision has been made regarding Flock or any potential alternative.
This decision doesn’t belong to a private technology company or a handful of officials behind closed doors. The remaining Flock installations will not proceed. We will continue reviewing the system, considering alternatives, and listening to our residents.
Ultimately, the people of Methuen deserve a voice in what happens next. Public confidence must come first.
MAYOR ALSO OPPOSES DATA CENTERS
Mayor Beauregard also announced that he is proposing a temporary one-year moratorium on the development of data centers in the City of Methuen. The proposal will come before the Methuen City Council at its next regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8, beginning the re-view and approval process required for amendments to the City’s zoning ordinance.
The proposed moratorium would temporarily prohibit the construction, establishment, conver-sion, or use of property for data centers while the City conducts a comprehensive review and develops appropriate permanent zoning regulations.
“Data centers are expanding rapidly across the country, and communities are increasingly being asked to confront the significant demands these facilities can place on electricity, water, and other public infrastructure,” said Mayor Beauregard. “Methuen should not wait until a proposal is sitting in front of us to decide what our standards should be. We have an opportunity to get ahead of this issue, understand the potential benefits and consequences, and put responsible rules in place before development occurs.”
Data centers can require substantial amounts of electricity to operate servers, cooling systems, and other equipment, potentially requiring significant new electrical infrastructure. Depending on their design, they can also consume substantial amounts of water for cooling and create ad-ditional concerns related to noise, air quality, backup generators, and surrounding land uses.
At the same time, the proposed ordinance recognizes that data centers can create economic de-velopment opportunities, including investment, employment, and additional tax revenue.
“The goal of this ordinance isn’t to say ‘no’ to economic development,” Beauregard said. “We should welcome investment that creates jobs, strengthens our tax base, and benefits our com-munity, but we also have a responsibility to protect our residents and ratepayers from devel-opments that could drive up costs or place unreasonable demands on our infrastructure and natural resources.”
During the moratorium, the Department of Economic and Community Development, working with the City’s Legal Department and other appropriate departments, would study potential permanent regulations governing data centers. The review would specifically examine impacts on electricity costs and infrastructure; whether facilities should be required to provide dedicat-ed or on-site sources of power; water consumption and protection of the City’s water supply; noise and air quality; appropriate locations and size limitations; permitting requirements; and potential employment, investment, and tax benefits.
The proposed ordinance would establish the moratorium for one year from its effective date or until the City adopts permanent zoning regulations governing data centers, whichever occurs first. The City Council could extend the moratorium once, for up to 180 additional days, if addi-tional time is necessary to complete the zoning process.
The proposal also makes clear that the definition of a data center would not encompass ordi-nary computer servers, networking equipment, computer rooms, or similar technology that is incidental to another lawful principal use, ensuring that the moratorium is targeted specifically toward facilities whose principal use is large-scale data processing and computing infrastructure.
“A temporary moratorium gives Methuen the time to establish clear safeguards before decisions are made that could permanently affect residents, small businesses, and the city’s resources,” said Senator Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence). “Data centers can place enormous demands on elec-tricity, water, infrastructure, and land, and the community deserves a meaningful voice in de-termining whether and under what conditions these projects move forward. I commend Mayor Beauregard for his proactive leadership, and I urge the City Council to support this responsible step to protect Methuen’s long-term interests.”