The Milwaukee Police Department has indicated that a decision on the potential expansion of facial recognition technology has yet to be made after backlash from civil rights activists.
The announcement follows formal opposition from city officials and civil rights organizations, who have raised concerns about potential effects on marginalized communities. The department [1] has been in talks regarding a possible agreement with Biometrica, a data and identity platform that facilitates access to third-party facial recognition services for law enforcement. Brian Barkow, [2] who is the Milwaukee County Chief Deputy, informed supervisors that the agency does not plan to use facial recognition technology to scan random individuals in public or through existing surveillance systems and cameras. However, the agency is interested in utilizing this technology for identifying individuals when the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has an image of a crime suspect. “The sheriff’s office has never and will never, nor do we intend to, install it on existing cameras where facial recognition technology is constantly scanning images,” said Barkow.
TheThe American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU and Milwaukee Turners jointly endorsed [3] a letter advocating for the implementation of a Community Control over Police Surveillance ordinance. This initiative aims to “democratize the decision-making process” regarding surveillance technologies and practices in Milwaukee. “We urge you to support the CCOPS ordinance and advocate for its adoption in our city. By doing so, we can protect our community from potential overreach and ensure that our policing practices are fair, transparent, and accountable to the people they are meant to protect. Most of all, we can ensure that Milwaukee joins the 26 other American cities in having the most transparent, democratic, and inclusive local surveillance law in the nation,” the letter concluded.
In July, the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission or ERC unanimously [4] adopted a resolution against the Milwaukee Police Department's use of facial recognition technology. The decision was based on studies indicating higher misidentification rates among people of colour and women, as well as a lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of such systems in enhancing public safety. Earlier in the year, [5] eleven members of the Milwaukee Common Council had also expressed concerns in a letter to Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, urging the department to refrain from implementing the technology, citing potential harm to community trust. The Milwaukee Police Department or MPD has not established a citywide facial recognition programme; however, it has utilized the technology in particular investigations. In July, MPD [6] used facial recognition to identify a homicide suspect from footage captured by a doorbell camera, highlighting the technology's investigative utility and its dependence on current surveillance systems. Under the department's Community Connect Milwaukee initiative, a total of 1,410 residential cameras have been registered, with 965 providing direct access to law enforcement.
In April, the ACLU of Wisconsin sent a letter [7] to the Milwaukee Common Council requesting a two-year moratorium on the implementation of any new surveillance technologies, particularly facial recognition. This moment presents a rare and vital opportunity. “The Common Council can become the roadblock against creeping authoritarianism. Be the guardrails to prevent harm before it starts. Be remembered in Milwaukee’s history as the public servants who chose accountability, humanity, and courage when it counted most,” said the ACLU. The Milwaukee Police Department has not revealed the proposed match confidence thresholds, requirements for human review, data retention policies, or the terms of any future contract with Biometrica.