MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police have restricted access to their automatic license plate reader database and implemented new policies after prosecutors say a former officer used it to track his partner and that person's ex 179 times.
Three weeks ago, the Milwaukee Police Department cut off access to Flock Safety's camera database for a majority of its officers. MPD says the technology isn't going away, but admits its old audit system failed the department.
MPD's 31 automatic license plate reader cameras capture the license plate number, make, model and color of all vehicles that pass by.
Emilio De Torre, who has opposed Flock cameras since they came to Milwaukee 3 years ago, said the misuse confirmed his concerns.
"It had occurred for months and that the victim found out about it through a third party website and not through MPD," De Torre said.
Watch: Milwaukee police restrict license plate reader access, update audit policies after alleged misuse
De Torre was one of dozens who packed a Common Council Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday, where MPD acknowledged it found gaps in how it monitored Flock searches.
"I think that magnified what I and many hundreds of people believe is that Milwaukeeans do not deserve to be surveilled 24/7," De Torre said.
MPD's new audit system flags unusual patterns, such as the license plates that have been searched the most. Officers must now get supervisor approval to reapply for access to the crime-fighting tool.
City leaders also pressed MPD on whether it shares Flock data with outside agencies.
An MPD spokesperson says if its Flock data is shared with another local law enforcement agency for a criminal investigation, that data cannot be passed along to any other department.
MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough said if a federal agency such as ICE wants to review MPD's Flock database, they need a warrant signed by a judge — and said that has not yet happened.
"We're not just going to readily give it out to anyone because we want to ensure that we keep our community safe and we can monitor our own use, we can't monitor anyone else's," Hough said.
The department says around 600 officers used to have access to the technology. MPD deactivated the accounts in late February with the exception of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, which investigated felony crimes.
When asked how many officers would ultimately regain access, Hough said the number is still being determined.
"It may be way less, it may be the same, but it's dependent on how they made the request," Hough said.
De Torre thinks the department should look elsewhere for crime-fighting solutions.
"I think that Milwaukee needs to look beyond its own horizons to see how the many police departments that have dropped Flock are functioning successfully post-Flock and consider that in their solutions," De Torre said.
An MPD spokesperson told TMJ4 they have not found any other instances of officers misusing Flock for personal reasons since the department revamped their auditing process.
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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