Milwaukee PD Facial Recognition Halt
Milwaukee Police Department — Facial Recognition Use Halted (2026) Pending Operating Procedures
Milwaukee, WI · Milwaukee Police Department facial-recognition use halt (Feb 2026); SOP under development
- Status
- Proposed / pending
- Applies to
- Milwaukee Police Department personnel
- Enforced by
- Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission
After public pushback, the Milwaukee Police Department halted its use of facial recognition technology in February 2026. A city oversight body had found that MPD was using the technology without any formal standard operating procedure, and a proposed deal with vendor Biometrica (trading 2.5 million booking photos for free access) drew strong community and council opposition. No binding facial-recognition policy has been adopted; MPD says an operating procedure is still being developed.
Who is protected: Milwaukee residents and visitors
Legal detail
Milwaukee PD paused facial-recognition use in Feb 2026 following community organizing and council opposition to a proposed Biometrica agreement (free internal FR access in exchange for ~2.5M booking photos). The Fire and Police Commission found MPD had been using FR without an adopted SOP. A formal SOP — expected to address supervisory approval, audit logging, and limits on live/real-time FR — remains under development and unadopted as of this verification. Status is therefore 'proposed' (a voluntary pause, not an enacted ordinance or finalized policy).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Milwaukee, WI |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Citation | Milwaukee Police Department facial-recognition use halt (Feb 2026); SOP under development |
| Topics | facial recognition · biometric data · police and surveillance AI |
| News report | City Hall: Facing Pushback, MPD Halts Use of Facial Recognition Technology — Urban Milwaukee |
More AI rules in Milwaukee, WI
- Milwaukee WI proposed one-year data center moratorium · Proposed / pending
- Milwaukee Police Department self-imposed moratorium on facial… · In effect
Related facial recognition rules elsewhere
- Virginia § 15.2-1723.2 (facial recognition by local law enforcement, eff. July 1, 2026) · In effect
- Bristol VA PD facial recognition program (first VA local agency) · In effect
- Dallas PD Clearview AI facial recognition policy · In effect
- Ban biometric recognition in public accommodations (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Limit facial recognition in residential buildings (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Texas v. Google · In effect
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