By Sara Withee
(June 16, 2026) – The Police Chief returned to the Select Board meeting last night to share an update on the Ayer Police Department’s new Flock Safety Camera portal.
The Police Chief explained that the department had compiled a Flock Safety Camera Information Portal and published this on June 8th. Residents can access the portal through the police department page on the town’s website. This shares information on the installation of public facing security cameras and automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in Ayer.
The police department took this step after a resident raised questions at the April 21st Select Board meeting, in part asking the town to post a policy informing the public what they were doing.
Many residents were unaware the police department had started down this path (and so far, it’s been said the cameras are not fully operational at meetings we have covered). Residents have been sharing their views and concerns on social media. The resident who spoke up at the April meeting went onto publish www.flockayer.info.
Now the Ayer Police Department has the portal, which includes an open letter to the community, Frequently Asked Questions and other materials. The police chief told the Select Board that a new document had been added in the days since the initial release – a “Data Deletion After Retention Period” document.
Meeting Coverage
A few points from this meeting:
Police Chief Comment. Over the next hour, the police chief shared that Flock helps solve about 2,000 crimes a day in the U.S. – about 10 percent of our national crime and the department hopes to help Ayer. “In Ayer, we have crimes that may be small, but to the people who are victimized they’re huge,” he said.
Funding. Two residents asked about how the Flock Safety Cameras would be purchased in the future. In this case, the Ayer Police Department applied for a $25,000 grant through the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. At last night’s meeting, the police chief said if he thought the cameras were successful, he would look for another grant opportunity. If there were none, he would include the request in the police department budget which goes before Town Meeting.
Doesn’t Feel Very Good
One resident said the overall experience of the past few weeks doesn’t feel good. He spoke in part about residents learning about the cameras when they were already up, then having the police department make decisions that impact residents related to software and agreements.
Distrust of Flock
One resident said the problem wasn’t the Ayer Police Department, but Flock.
“I think most of us believe that the Ayer Police Department is here with the best interests of the people of Ayer as their top priority,” the resident said.
Questions. More residents and town employees asked questions and shared good points, beyond what we were able to cover.