MPD says it hasn't bought facial recognition licenses; commission seeks records and SOP before any procurement
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Summary
At the Feb. 5 FPC meeting, MPD leaders told commissioners the department has not purchased new facial‑recognition software and that any purchase would follow an SOP, but inspectors said limited investigative use and manual logs exist and the commission requested a case log and further transparency.
Milwaukee '026-02-05 — Milwaukee Police Department leaders told the Fire and Police Commission on Wednesday that the department has not acquired new facial‑recognition licenses and that any future procurement would be conditioned on a written policy and public input. Still, MPD acknowledged past limited investigative use and told commissioners it relied, at times, on other jurisdictions' searches.
"At this time, we have not taken on any particular program or use of FRT for our particular department," Chief Thomas said in a virtual appearance. He emphasized that any FRT hit would function as an investigative lead, not as the sole basis for arrest.
Inspector Paul Lough, describing investigatory practice, said homicide, gang/gun and major crimes units have kept manual logs of FRT use since 2024 and offered to provide the commission the incident numbers and results. Commissioners noted a discrepancy between MPD's assertions and ACLU testimony that FRT had not always been documented in police reports nor disclosed reliably to defense attorneys in some cases.
Commissioners pressed MPD on where the department had "borrowed" search results from other agencies and whether an internal, written SOP ever existed. MPD officials said prior guidance was verbal, supervision and captain oversight were relied upon, and that the department is working on a draft SOP and a "rough framework" that has been shared with FPC staff for feedback.
Legal and oversight context: commissioners referenced state law changes (Act 12 and Wis. Stat. §62.50) that moved policy‑making authority toward chiefs while preserving the FPC's authority to review and issue directives. Commissioners asked MPD to produce records of past FRT uses and any data‑sharing agreements with vendors or partner agencies; MPD said it would provide case logs in short order.
Next steps: FPC members asked staff to prepare draft language for a recommendation to the common council and asked MPD to supply the logs and any draft data‑sharing agreements for commission review.
