Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office decides not to move forward with facial recognition technology

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A second Milwaukee-area law enforcement agency will not use facial recognition technology.

On Friday, Feb. 27, Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball announced her office will not move forward with it at this time.

The MCSO decision comes three weeks after the Milwaukee Police Department made a similar decision to not use the technology.

Sheriff Ball said in a statement:

"While we recognize the potential of this software as an investigative tool, we also recognize that trust between the MCSO and the people we serve is important. My discussions with local advocates highlighted valid concerns regarding how such data could be accessed or perceived in the current national climate. This decision is not a retreat from innovation but rather an understanding that timing matters, too."

There have long been concerns in Milwaukee and elsewhere about how data collected with the technology would be used. 

While billed as a tool to find criminal suspects, civil rights groups fear FRT can be used to surveil and seek out anyone.

They're happy it will not be used in Milwaukee.

Bianca Shaw is the state director for Common Cause Wisconsin. She told us, "They are understanding that safety cannot come at the cost of civil rights."

It was after a "thoughtful evaluation" and "meaningful dialogue" with the community that Sheriff Ball decided against using facial recognition technology. In a statement, she said those conversations found "valid concerns regarding how such data could be accessed or perceived."

Shaw said it represents "That we are not a number. Every person has their own unique story, their own unique identity, and AI is not efficient enough to be able to decipher between those two."

Many people are already being tracked on cameras, even if we can't see them.

But the concern with facial recognition technology is who's collecting that data, where they're sending it, and how it's being used.

The technology builds a database of faces. But opponents worry it could be used to track people down, like protesters, immigrants, or ordinary citizens.

MCSO's decision comes three weeks after the Milwaukee Police Department decided to ban the technology. 

On February 5, dozens of people spoke out against an MPD plan to use FRT.

Later that night, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman insisted the technology was a useful crime fighting tool.

But the next day, MPD reversed course and announced it would not pursue the technology.

Sheriff Ball now, like Norman then, sees "the potential of this software as an investigative tool."

But she closed her announcement by saying, "This decision is not a retreat from innovation but rather an understanding that timing matters, too."

After the MCSO decision, Shaw said, "This is an instance where our elected officials, our public officials, are allowing what they're hearing from their constituents to influence what they do."

Shaw said some opponents are still concerned law enforcement agencies could indirectly use facial recognition technology if they contract with a private company.