HOULTON, Maine — Houlton is turning off its townwide network of surveillance cameras until officials can review their compliance with Maine law, according to the town’s new interim manager, Cameron Clark.
The town’s decision comes after residents have publicly questioned the legality of the surveillance cameras, which are equipped with facial recognition technology. In 2021, Maine’s Legislature passed a law that sharply limited the ability of governments, schools and public officials to use facial surveillance technology for all but the most serious investigations.
Clark announced Saturday that the town would be pausing the surveillance program, a day after the Bangor Daily News sent a series of questions about its compliance with that law.
“I have made the decision to temporarily deactivate the Town of Houlton’s camera system,” Clark said. “During this period, Town of Houlton staff will collaborate with its vendors to thoroughly assess and ensure that the camera system currently owned and operated by the town complies with all applicable laws and regulations.”
Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca first announced just over a year ago, in January 2024, that the town was preparing to install 50 Verkada surveillance cameras purchased for $130,000 with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The cameras were then installed in March 2024, and at least some of them were activated at that point, DeLuca shared in a Town Council meeting that month.
The cameras that the town purchased are equipped with facial recognition technology, according to an invoice for the purchase that the BDN obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request, as well as information from the manufacturer.
But town officials have shared little additional information about the cameras, including whether they have used that facial recognition technology.
This past December, former Town Manager Jeremy Smith revealed that only 25 cameras had been activated due to a lack of funds. They are all on municipal properties.
Under the law that Maine passed in 2021, it is illegal for public officials or departments to obtain, retain, possess or access a facial surveillance system or information derived from a search of a facial surveillance technology unless the use falls into one of a few exceptions.
Those exceptions include when the footage is required to investigate a serious crime, to help identify deceased individuals or to help locate a missing or endangered person, according to Michael Kebede, policy director with the Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
And even in those cases, the municipality must first request permission from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Maine State Police to access the data, depending on the case or crime, Kebede said.
In an interview, Kebede said a municipality can have the cameras with facial recognition technology as long as they follow the law regarding those searches. Essentially, every time the town wants to do a facial recognition search, it has to fall within one of the exceptions and the state must grant permission for the search, he said.
But it does not appear the town has yet made such a request.
Last month, the BDN filed a FOAA request asking the Maine State Police for records of any requests in the previous 12 months for permission to access facial surveillance images from the Houlton Police Department, the town of Houlton or its department of public works.
State police staff attorney Paul Cavanaugh said the agency did not have any requests.
Additionally, the BDN sent a FOAA request last week to the Maine secretary of state’s office regarding requests to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The agency has not yet responded.
“It’s absolutely concerning,” Kebede said of the town’s facial surveillance technology. “If they are storing information and doing searches to investigate misdemeanors, then they violated the law.”
Since the March installation, the surveillance system has also come under scrutiny by residents, including Craig Harriman who has sued the town for a lack of transparency regarding their use and a failure to comply with state freedom-of-information laws.
Most recently, during the public comment period in two January Town Council meetings, local entrepreneur Patrick Bruce accused the town of violating Maine law because all the cameras are equipped with Verkada’s facial recognition technology.
While the town has not confirmed whether it has used the facial recognition technology, Police Chief DeLuca has provided general comments about the use of the cameras.
In January 2024, he said in a written response to a BDN FOAA request that law enforcement regularly uses available video from community partners, so the new cameras would be no exception.
At the time, DeLuca did not reveal that the town cameras were equipped with facial surveillance technology.
“These will not be used to arrest individuals based solely on the camera footage; however, they will be a tool during an investigation into any criminal activity,” DeLuca said. “All cameras will be monitored at the communications center at the Houlton Police Department.”
