Somerville, MA Privacy & Surveillance: License Plate Readers (2026)

Sec. ' Before the police department can acquire an ALPR system, expand an existing one, or use ALPR data for a new purpose, Sec. 10-65(a) requires it to submit a surveillance technology impact report, covering how the technology works, its purpose, deployment locations, privacy and civil-rights impacts, a mitigation plan, and projected cost, to the mayor's office, which forwards it to the city council. The council has 60 days, not counting June, July, or August, to approve or deny the request; if it misses that window the request is approved by default but must still come back for city council ratification at the next annual review.

Sec. 10-63(c)(1) allows the police or fire department to use ALPR technology for up to 90 days without prior approval only in defined 'exigent circumstances' involving danger of death, injury, or major property loss or damage, after which the department must report the use to the council within 90 days. Once an ALPR program is approved, Sec. 10-66(b)(2) forces annual public disclosure of whether the data was shared with local, state, or federal agencies, naming the recipient, the type of data disclosed, the legal standard relied on, and the justification, which is the mechanism that would surface any ICE or other federal data-sharing arrangement. The annual report must also disclose any new agreements with non-city entities involving the technology or its data.