Milwaukee police seek facial‑recognition licenses; community groups and oversight bodies raise privacy and bias concerns

The Milwaukee Police Department on Wednesday asked the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission to consider allowing the department to obtain two facial‑recognition software licenses, saying the tool would be limited to generating investigative leads in serious violent crimes.

The request drew more than two hours of public comment and pushback from civil‑rights groups, neighborhood advocates and members of the Fire and Police Commission, who warned that the technology is biased, invasive and likely to be misused. Speakers also criticized a vendor proposal discussed by MPD that would give the company access to the department’s historical booking photographs.

Tony Snell Rodriguez, chair of the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission, opened the meeting by framing the discussion as a community listening process into the “potential use of facial recognition technology by the Milwaukee Police Department.” He said the commission had requested research from the city’s Legislative Reference Bureau to compare peer cities and identify guardrails and oversight practices.

Heather Huff, chief of staff for the Milwaukee Police Department, told commissioners MPD seeks two user licenses to run searches against lawfully possessed arrest photos when detectives need a lead on a violent crime. "It is a lead generator," Huff said, adding that, in MPD’s practice, matches would prompt traditional investigation, not arrests. Huff said MPD had previously relied on neighboring jurisdictions’ systems, but those arrangements had become limited and the department is seeking its own contract. She also said MPD intends to craft a policy with…