Facial recognition technology sparks negative response from activist groups at Milwaukee County Board Committee meeting

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Milwaukee activists and residents against the use of facial recognition technology for law enforcement spoke at a committee meeting with the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

At a meeting for the Committee on Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and General Services, people like Angela Land made their way to the microphone to share their perspective on the technology that has been proposed for use in Milwaukee County. Land, the executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), said the technology would disproportionately be used toward minorities.

“I haven’t heard one community member today say that they support this,” Land said after an hour of public comment. “All of the folks that we have been talking to in the community say if we actually want to get to the root causes of crime, we invest in things like mental health and health care and affordable housing.”

In June, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution to potentially use facial recognition technology. Chief Deputy Brian Barkow, with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, said the proposed technology would help catch criminals.

“It is a tool that’s utilized to point an investigator, potentially, in the right direction,” Barkow said.

The framework for the proposal is still being worked through. Some Milwaukee County Board supervisors who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting said the current political climate had elevated some constituents' concerns over the technology’s storage.

“What’s to stop ICE from coming in and just taking all the information you have saved?” Supervisor Joan Miguel Martinez asked Barkow at the meeting.

“I don’t really know what warrant they could potentially come up with that would require us to give that. I’m not going to say that there’s not a case or scenario where that comes into play, but we’re not just going to willingly give access to our information,” Barkow responded.

The resolution passed by the Milwaukee County Board calls for a final recommendation to be established no later than May 2026.

Similar debates over the technology are also being weighed with the Milwaukee Police Department.