By Sara Withee
(Aug. 31, 2026) – With a 3-0 vote, the Ayer Select Board voted Monday to cancel the town’s contract with Flock Safety immediately. The Select Board member who made the motion said the cameras should be disabled and uninstalled immediately.
On Aug. 18th, the Select Board had announced its intention to take a vote this evening and residents gathered at Town Hall. We watched the meeting over Zoom and cannot report on who was at Town Hall.
The Select Board chair asked residents who had already spoken on Flock if they could hold their comments due to time. Seven residents spoke.
One resident asked why a residential location was chosen for the camera facing her apartment. She said there is a device facing down Columbia Street facing her apartment building and her neighbors. She said she is being surveiled when she picks up a package and when she goes to and leaves her home, as are her neighbors. No one disputed her comment.
“That is an incredibly uneasy feeling to live with and actually has me re-considering renewing my lease and leaving Ayer in the new year,” she said.
The woman asked why residents who live downtown were being surveilled at a higher rate than other residents. She said there had been cases of Flock being used inappropriately and individuals, mainly women, being stalked by police officers. She asked what re-assurances she had for her privacy and safety, saying the worst could happen here too.
“These Flock cameras don’t make me feel more safe,” she said. “They make me feel, quite frankly, a lot less safe.”
Another resident pointed out that 214 communities around the country had cancelled their Flock Safety contracts as of this month. “I take that very seriously,” she said.
One of the Select Board members quickly seconded the first member’s motion to cancel the contract without comment. The Select Board chair took a moment and thanked everyone who voiced their opinion. He explained that he had received messages from residents and had been doing his own research online, including reading the case of Commonwealth vs. McCarthy.
He also noted he supports the Ayer Police and believes the department set up the Flock cameras with the best intentions.
Flock Discussion Began in April
In Ayer, the discussion about Flock Safety began at the April 21st Select Board meeting. During public comment, a resident said he had noticed the Flock cameras in town. This was news to many residents.
The resident asked the Ayer Police Department to share information about the cameras online with residents. The Ayer Police Chief was in the audience that night and agreed.
In June, the resident shared materials he requested from the Town of Ayer on a website.
A few days later, the Ayer Police Department published its Flock Safety Public Information Portal on the town’s website. According to the portal materials, the town would be deploying two types of technology, standard public facing security cameras and public facing Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). The department planned to only connect data with other Massachusetts law enforcement agencies.
On June 16th, the Select Board met, giving the police chief a chance to introduce the portal and residents a chance to ask him questions and share their concerns. There was about an hour of discussion that night.
As he answered questions, the police chief emphasized the Ayer Police Department wanted to support the community and the technology could help with criminal investigations.
Residents did their research before coming out. This was a public meeting with a lot of technical terms and references to user agreements, sections and contracts.
As the discussion continued, residents said they valued the Ayer Police Department’s work for the community, but were distrustful and frustrated with Flock and the contract language.
The topic of Town Meeting approval also came up. The Ayer Police Department received a $25,000 grant to fund the Flock Safety technologies, according to materials shared in the police portal and on the resident’s website. Because of this, the department did not have to present the Flock Safety cameras as part of its budget at Annual Town Meeting, where residents could vote on this.
After this discussion, the Select Board chair thanked the police chief for answering all the questions and sharing the information. The board moved onto other business.
But with so many Flock headlines this summer, residents have continued to follow along.
On Aug. 18th, when the Select Board met, residents were back during public comment. The Select Board decided to take a vote at the next meeting.
One of the residents submitted paperwork during public comment, with language he proposed taking to Annual Town Meeting next April. The language proposed that devices be removed, prohibited and would require Town Meeting approval before future use.
Groton Announcement
Earlier in the day, the Town of Groton announced it will terminate its current contract with Flock Safety.
Back on May 2nd, Groton’s Annual Town Meeting discussed Flock and after some discussion, voted 228-206 to remove funding from the meeting’s capital budget spending (Source: The Groton Channel meeting video). The town established a Working Group to study concerns around Flock.
In today’s announcement, Groton’s Town Manager and Police Chief noted the decision follows several weeks of internal review and “reflects the town’s commitment to getting the issue right rather than rushing it.” The Working Group’s goal is to bring a final, permanent recommendation to the Spring 2027 Town Meeting.
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We initially reported we would publish for 30 days but we have reflected and will keep this story up longer to support follow up coverage. While we didn’t name anyone, if any resident would like to be removed, please contact us. No questions asked.