MUSKEGO, Wis. — A grassroots organization is calling on Muskego officials to stop using Flock cameras without a warrant, saying the city's license plate reader data was accessed nearly 1 million times in a single month — including by people in states across the country.
Watch Rebecca Klopf's full report in the video player below:
The group, No Cams Muskego, says the data access raises serious privacy concerns and is asking the Common Council to propose an ordinance to eliminate the cameras.
"There were 900,000 searches of Muskego's data," Pete Karas, founder of No Cams Muskego, said. "We believe it is an invasion of our privacy."
Karas is also a Green Party candidate running for Secretary of State.
That figure represents the number of times Muskego's Flock data was accessed in a single month, which includes access to live video feeds. While Flock cameras are considered license plate readers, they can also collect pictures and video and are only supposed to be used in criminal investigations.
"Some of those are nationwide searches. But we didn't authorize people in California, people in Florida, people in Texas to look at our driving habits," Karas said.
In recent weeks, law enforcement agencies across southeastern Wisconsin have been removing their Flock cameras. The Racine County Sheriff's Office removed its cameras and ended its contract because of data concerns. Fond du Lac County cited concerns that investigative data was being disclosed. Sheboygan removed its cameras and says it will end its contract. Kenosha has moved away from Flock and transitioned to AXON.
Muskego's mayor said in a Facebook post that he is listening to both sides of the Flock argument and will work with the Common Council to determine the best solution. I spoke to people who did not want to go on camera but said they were fine with the use of Flock in the city if it helps cut down on crime.
"If they want to use the system, that would be amazing; just get a warrant," Karas said.
No Cams Muskego is asking the Common Council to propose an ordinance to eliminate Flock cameras. The mayor says the cameras are funded through the city's budget and expects to have more discussion in this fall's budget hearings.
The Muskego Police Department provided TMJ4 News with this statement on Flock cameras:
"The Muskego Police Department has solved numerous cases with the assistance of Flock cameras. Three examples:
- Flock cameras assisted with locating and subsequently apprehending two armed robbery suspects, during which a shot was fired at the Muskego victim.
- Flock cameras alerted Muskego PD to the entry of a stalking suspect into the city, where the victim worked. Officers responded to the victim’s place of employment, and arrested the suspect in very close proximity to the victim’s employment. What would have happened if Muskego officers were not alerted, and immediately responded?
- Flock cameras assisted in clearing an attempted child abduction case, in which without the use of the cameras, our department almost certainly would not have obtained the investigative lead needed to clear the case. The case ended up being an honest mistake by a transportation employee. We were able to exonerate an innocent person and put the community at ease knowing the case had been cleared and no danger existed.
Although there are no immediate plans for change in Flock use in Muskego, the department understands and listens to community concerns. The Muskego Police Department has, and will continue to evaluate the use of Flock, in conjunction with our Mayor and Common Council.
The Muskego Police Department operates the Flock transparency portal (link below, from the FAQ portion of the Muskego PD website). Additionally, a supervisor conducts monthly audits of Flock usage within the department. The Muskego Police Department has had zero documented instances of misuse of the Flock system.
https://transparency.flocksafety.com/muskego-wi-pd [transparency.flocksafety.com]
Ask a crime victim if law enforcement should utilize every legally available tool to investigate and solve their case. The Muskego Police Department believes the vast majority of robbery, stalking, and child abduction (or other crime) victims/families would say yes.
Utilizing Flock, with the internal safeguards the department has put in place, has been a positive for the Muskego community."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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