United States, Massachusetts
Massachusetts State Police
Statewide licence plate reader network
OperationalCivil society reportPAI-B9B7396E
- Body
- Massachusetts State Police
- Country
- United States
- Area
- Massachusetts
- Technology
- Statewide licence plate reader network
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Suffolk Superior Court ordered disclosure of camera locations and search audit logs (licence plate numbers redacted) in a public records case brought by the ACLU of Massachusetts, according to the ACLU's press release of 2 September 2026.
- Evidence
- Civil society report
Report by a human rights or civil liberties organisation - Source
- ACLU of Massachusetts, 2 September 2026
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-B9B7396E
Notes
In a press release dated 2 September 2026, the ACLU of Massachusetts quotes Kade Crockford, its director of technology and justice programs, saying the State Police 'maintains its own statewide network of license plate readers'. The ACLU says Suffolk Superior Court granted its motion for summary judgment, finding that the State Police had not justified withholding the camera locations and the audit logs showing when, why and how often officers search the plate reader database, with plate numbers to be redacted. According to the ACLU, the State Police had withheld the records under public records exemptions for critical infrastructure and ongoing criminal investigations, and the ACLU filed suit in November 2023. Boston 25 News reported on 3 September 2026 that the ruling came on the Wednesday, 2 September. The ACLU's release does not name the vendor or give the number of cameras, so those fields are left empty. Boston 25 News and WJAR (NBC 10), on 4 September 2026, described the records as concerning the State Police's Flock cameras without giving detail, and WJAR said it was unclear what the ruling means for the State Police. The City of Boston's 2025 surveillance report records two State Police requests to Boston's Flock hot list.
Other systems used by Massachusetts State Police
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts State PoliceTeleoperated ground robot (Boston Dynamics Spot) | United StatesMassachusetts | Boston Dynamics | 2023 | Operational |
Statewide licence plate reader network elsewhere in United States
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Police DepartmentANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) | United StatesCalifornia | Axon | 2026 | Trial | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionPredictive Intelligence Program: licence plate reader networks with a travel-pattern algorithm | United StatesBorder Patrol: southwest and northern borders and interior highways | — | — | Operational | |
| US Immigration and Customs EnforcementLicence plate reader data: commercial database queries and AI plate capture and analysis | United StatesNationwide (Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations) | Motorola Solutions (per the DHS inventory); West Publishing (Thomson Reuters) for commercial plate data, per Biometric Update | — | Operational | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionLand Border Integration: licence plate and occupant face recognition at land ports (Rekor) | United StatesLand ports of entry | Rekor | 2021 | Operational | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionAirship Outpost identification of conveyances | United StatesNationwide | Airship | 2023 | Operational | |
| Federal Bureau of InvestigationLicence plate readers (three inventory entries) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationLicence plate readers (DEASIL programme and state, federal and commercial partner data) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesAccess to ELSAG licence plate readers run by HIDTA partners | United StatesNationwide | Leonardo US Cyber and Security Solutions LLC | — | Operational | |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesThomson Reuters Vigilant Vehicle Manager | United StatesNationwide | Motorola | — | Operational | |
| Criminal Division, US Department of JusticeThomson Reuters CLEAR licence plate recognition | United StatesNationwide | Thomson Reuters | — | Operational | |
| US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector GeneralAccess to the Nlets Nationwide Licence Plate Reader Pointer Index | United StatesNationwide | Thomson Reuters | — | Operational | |
| Baltimore Police DepartmentAxon licence plate readers | United StatesBaltimore, Maryland | Axon | — | Proposed |