The Watertown Police will discuss the technology used by the WPD at the event on Jan. 21. Topics will include the cameras that can take pictures of license plates, body cameras, and more. See more info in the announcement from the Watertown Police, below.
Tech Talk is just over two weeks away! We hope to see you there!
DATE: January 21, 2026
TIME: 6:30–8:30 PM
LOCATION: Hosmer Elementary School – Learning Commons, 1 Concord Rd., Watertown
Pre-registration is helpful but not required
If you would like to pre-register:
Call Christina Lawson at 617-600-1315 or email clawson@police.watertown-ma.gov
Here’s our opportunity to learn more about, and express our opinions on, Flock. It certainly made a big impact on this site.
Also the numerous studies full of facts. This is not a new issue, many cities in Oklahoma and here have come before us and have taken them down because the problems outweight what little benefit they produce. If I have the time I will print out the cases which go back a few years and bri g them.
The Karen Reed case would be a prime example of how evidence does not tell the whole story. Tech is no substitute for human cognition as much as we try to outsource that. The Brown story also belies theiir effectiveness since the homeless witness was the catalyst; the Flock cameras were supplemental. In most cases, someone knows something and if they are not disclosing, then things like Flock cameras are superfluous. Besides petty retail crime is not worth ruining someone’s life with errouneous data, identity theft due to the selling of data and the opening of records that were once sealed by courts. There are people hiding their identies because of domestic violence, testfying against the mob, etc. And why do we have to foot the bill for retail? Let Target use its money to put up cameras, not our tax money. Screw them for not covering their costs. The juice aint word the squeeze here.
I don’t know if the lead was buried here or a complete agenda wasnt given but I am calling attention to it because many people in town are opposed to the use of Flock cameras for numerous legitimate reasons. This goes across the political spectrum. If you are interested in the Flock camera issue, and everyone should be because privacy is at stake here, attend this. While this is a municipal matter, our state legislators should attend too because this kind of technology that needs serious regulation. Remember just because something is labelled a crime or someone is a labelled a perp , the courts may decide otherwise. Wasn’t that what the Karen Reed case was all about? They had parts of her car, didn’t they? So let’s not violate privacy in the name of “crime fighting!” Spend the money on de-escalation training, a degree for officers who want advanced education or drug sniffing German Shepherd. More person to person activities.
Rita has a point here. The best policing is personal. My grandfather was a beat cop. He know everyone–the good,, the bad and the ugly. There is far too much dehumanization already in progress.
Even if we trust the Watertown police, what grounds do we have to trust a corporate entity like Flock with data about our movements and so on? Already too much information about us is bought and sold like a commodity without express permission. It would also be quite easy to imagine a regime like Trump’s using such data to hunt down dissidents rather than criminals.
Just say no to big brother.
Thanks Joe and you are right! That is exactly what we need, more beat cops. Robert Putnam says that the decline of community can be contributed to many factors (low religious attendance, the wealth gap, the decline of unions, job insecurity, the end of clubs for civic engagement and hobbies), but the one major factor was the invention of the television, which was the first time people removed themselves from community to watch screens (tv, phones, laptops, etc.). You are right that screens are dehumanizing for the watched and the watcher.
The Watertown Police have these beat cop skills. I saw an arrest on Sunday of an agitated white man in his 60s on Main St, and they were pressing on his legs with their hands in different spot. I could be wrong but it looked like a de-escalation technique to calm him down. I have also seen the dog put into use. Last fall, I was at the police station for a meeting, and a girl not more than 11 came in with PJs. The mom was in some sort of distress and the girl was on the verge of tears but by the time the meeting ended, she was laughing with the cop who had trained the dog.
So if they are going to spend money then spend it on areas that allow the police the ability to observe with their own eyes, make judgements with their brains and skills that make a situation from getting worse.
Hear! Hear!
We should also spend money on mental health services rather than Flock cameras. Let’s prioritize getting our fellow humans help that they need. Focus on people, not fancy tech.
100%!
Jan. 21 is a Wednesday. Is this scheduled for Jan. 20?
It is on the 21st. sorry for the confusion