NORWELL — September 30, 2026 — Norwell police have deactivated and covered the town’s two Flock license plate reader cameras six months after they were installed, the deputy police chief told the Select Board on Wednesday, saying the department’s relationship with residents mattered more than the tool. Board members lined up against a regional hazardous waste depot in Hanover, objecting to its liability terms.
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Appearing in place of Police Chief Edward Lee, Deputy Chief Jay McDevitt said the chief decided to discontinue the cameras, which came before the board in December 2025. The department has deactivated all user accounts, stopped all sharing and covered the cameras as of the day of the meeting, and the town administrator sent a letter to the company.
But after discussion with residents in the town and some members of the Select Board who have also heard from other residents, we feel that the trust and relationship we have with the community is just too important to continue with using them.
— Deputy Police Chief Jay McDevitt (12:40)
The department still sees value in the cameras, McDevitt said, and wants to reserve the right to bring them back if the Legislature acts or case law provides more guidance, possibly revisiting the question in a year or two.
Ren Layne, who met with the chief, the deputy chief and a detective a couple of weeks earlier said the cameras had helped solve some investigations more quickly and kept officers farther from danger, which made the choice difficult. Peter Smellie said crimes, some of them serious, had been solved with the cameras, while arguing that residents already give up far more privacy through their phones and travel on the Mass Pike. Chair Brian Greenberg said the voluntary step, taken on public feedback before any board action, spoke highly of the department.
I respect the deputy and the chief for making the decision, taking the appropriate action so we can rest, all can rest assured the flock cameras in town are no longer being used. And it is what it is.
— Select Board member Andrew Reardon (21:30)
Asked from the audience whether the board had voted on the cameras, members said the December item came to them as a grant-funded procurement question. Greenberg said the board can sign contracts of up to three years without town meeting, and this one ran under three years. Norwell paid nothing toward the cameras from property taxes, its operating budget or free cash, the chair said, adding that the outcome likely would have been very different had the town spent its own money.
The depot drew sharper objections. Relaying town counsel’s review, Town Administrator Chad Lovett said the agreement would require each participating town to fully indemnify Hanover against claims tied to the depot’s operation, set Hanover’s share of annual fixed costs at zero and spread it among the other towns, and pass the cost of a 20% discount for Hanover residents on to the rest. Council spending over $100,000 would need a two-thirds vote, and neither the administrator nor a board member found any cap on construction costs. Cohasset has opted not to proceed, Lovett said.
