Milwaukee police sink efforts to contract facial recognition with unsanctioned use

A meeting on whether and how Milwaukee police should use facial recognition in criminal investigations took an unexpected turn Thursday night, with revelations that the technology is already in use, complete with transparency and governance failures. By Friday morning, the Milwaukee Police Department had placed a moratorium on the use of facial recognition by its staff.

MPD revealed in a Fire and Police Commission meeting discussing its procurement options and whether the force should be allowed to use the technology that it has already been doing so in investigations, as reported by NPR affiliate WUWM. Further, it did so without a standard operating procedure, and was still doing so when MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough asked late last night for acknowledgement that we recognized this was an issue and we disclosed it.”

Those attending the meeting had expected a draft policy to be presented for consideration ahead of any implementation of face biometrics for local law enforcement investigations.

MPD officials said they used the technology through neighboring police departments. They said it has only been used in criminal investigations, but could not support the claim with any evidence.

The disclosure prompted Commission Vice Chair Bree Spencer to suggest a moratorium was needed.

An internal MPD memo reported by ABC affiliate 12 News this morning shuttered the practice.

“Despite our belief that this is useful technology to assist in generating leads for apprehending violent criminals, we recognize that the public trust is far more valuable,” says the memo obtained by 12 News.

The twist follows a widely-misunderstood effort by MPD to contract facial recognition capabilities from Biometrica. MPD is now abandoning those efforts, according to the memo.

Article Topics

Biometrica  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Milwaukee  |  Milwaukee Police Department  |  police