What the records show · Springfield, MA
In November 2026, the ACLU of Massachusetts published an analysis of the Springfield Police Department's Flock audit logs, obtained through a public records request. The logs record every search of the city's camera data: who ran it, when, and the reason they gave.
These are Springfield's numbers, not Lowell's. Lowell has never released its audit logs, which is exactly the problem.
Until early 2026, police far outside Massachusetts could search Springfield's camera data, and they did, millions of times. Departments in Texas and Florida were among the heaviest users. Springfield then limited access to Massachusetts and neighboring states. The ACLU notes that setting can be switched back at any time.
Police gave immigration or immigration enforcement as the reason for nearly 1,500 searches. Federal accounts, including Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol, searched the data directly in 2025. Searches citing Homeland Security Investigations continued into 2026.
More than 180 searches were tied to protests or political rallies, including searches by Springfield's own officers. Police in other New England cities also used Flock's plain-language search to describe people, not just vehicles.
Officers type in their own reason for each search. As the ACLU points out, a search for immigration enforcement can just as easily be labeled "traffic." The logs show only what officers chose to write down.
Springfield's records became public only because someone asked for them. Lowell runs 47 Flock cameras and has never released its logs.
Councilors have said Lowell's data won't be shared. Springfield shows why a promise isn't enough: its access limits are a setting, and settings change. Without the logs, no one in Lowell can see who has searched our data, or which local and federal agencies are allowed to.
We're requesting these records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. We'll post what we get.
Everything on this page comes from the ACLU of Massachusetts's Data for Justice Project. Their report goes into far more detail, and they've published the underlying data.
According to the ACLU, more than 40 Massachusetts cities and towns have ended their use of Flock. Springfield's City Council was scheduled to discuss an ordinance barring the technology on November 17, 2026.