Police authorities in New Bedford, Massachusetts, have temporarily shut down the city’s entire network of automated license plate reader cameras after allegations that an officer used the system to track the movements of her ex-girlfriend. The New Bedford Police Department suspended its Flock Safety camera system after internal investigators found a “concerning” number of searches linked to a single vehicle’s license plate, according to CBS News Boston. The woman involved told a court hearing that internal affairs officers contacted her after reviewing system access records and asked whether she believed she was being followed. Officer Emily Pacheco, who is at the centre of the investigation, has been placed on administrative leave while an internal affairs inquiry continues. A Massachusetts judge extended an abuse prevention order against Pacheco for six months, finding that she posed a credible threat to her former partner’s physical safety. Under the order, Pacheco had to surrender her personal and department-issued firearms, and her license to carry a firearm was immediately suspended.
Allegations against the police officer
According to court filings and a signed affidavit obtained by local news outlet The New Bedford Light, the couple ended their two-year relationship in April. The woman later accused Pacheco of repeated harassment, including making “endless calls” and creating fake phone numbers to send text messages. “Showing up to my home unannounced and refuse[d] to leave when asked … saw me pull into my home while on duty, got out of her cruiser and refused to leave,” the woman wrote in the court document, as cited by The New Bedford Light and Them. The affidavit said an internal affairs investigation began after the woman’s license plate was repeatedly searched through the regional surveillance network. Data obtained by local reporters showed that Pacheco was one of the most active users of the city’s Flock camera network this year. In April, the month the relationship ended, Pacheco made 18 searches. The number jumped to 259 in May and 220 in June. Most of the searches were recorded under the general category of “traffic infraction”. Department data also showed that some searches reached networks outside New Bedford.During a hearing in Bristol County, Pacheco said she used the surveillance system every day as part of her regular police duties. However, she denied using Flock to watch or track her former girlfriend. When asked, “Did you use the Flock system in your capacity as a New Bedford police officer?”, Pacheco answered, “Yes”. When asked how often she accessed the system, she said, “daily”.
New Bedford suspends Flock camera network
Following the hearing and growing public concern, the New Bedford Police Department confirmed that it had suspended the entire Flock camera network across the city. In a statement to CBS News Boston, the department said automated license plate readers can be useful but also recognized the serious risks linked to their use. The department said Flock “can be a valuable investigative tool,” while acknowledging that the technology raises “legitimate questions about privacy, access, information sharing, and oversight”. Flock Safety cameras use automated license plate recognition technology to record vehicle information, including color, make, model and license plate numbers. The data is uploaded to a central network that can be accessed by law enforcement agencies, providing location information with delays of as little as two minutes. Civil liberties groups have repeatedly warned about the possible misuse of such surveillance systems. In a statement published by The New Bedford Light, Gideon Epstein, a technology expert and counsel with the ACLU of Massachusetts, said systems like Flock give police “an unprecedented ability to track all drivers, regardless of whether drivers are suspected of any wrongdoing”. Epstein said allegations that officers had misused surveillance databases for personal reasons “highlight the need for robust, effective democratic oversight, transparency, and accountability mechanisms in law, policy, and police operations procedures”.
Growing concerns over police surveillance
Amid concerns about data privacy and possible police misuse, Flock Safety recently changed its default data retention policy. The company reduced the period for storing vehicle location data from 30 days to seven days. The New Bedford Police Union said it was aware of the investigation involving Pacheco but would not comment further until the internal inquiry is complete. The controversy in New Bedford comes as communities across the United States debate the growing use of high-tech police surveillance. New Bedford city councilors have scheduled public hearings to discuss oversight of the technology and consider formal rules for its use before the camera network is restored. When New Bedford adopted the technology, officers were required to provide a specific law enforcement reason for every search. Personal or improper use of the system violates department policy and can lead to the immediate loss of access, termination of employment and possible criminal charges.