Even as the Milwaukee Police Department backed away from facial recognition technology earlier this year after strong public criticism, records obtained by NNS show the department’s overall surveillance infrastructure continues to grow.
The number of cameras, license plate readers and other surveillance technologies available to the department has increased in recent years, along with the amount of money spent on these systems.
As was the case with facial recognition technology, MPD leaders say the tools help solve crimes and can make investigations more efficient
Critics, however, warn that an expanding surveillance infrastructure could make future monitoring technologies more powerful and raise concerns about privacy, oversight and civil rights violations – the same concerns raised over facial recognition technology…