ACLU of Wisconsin speaks on Milwaukee police Flock policy changes | FOX6 News Milwaukee

Our Take

Credit to FOX6 News Milwaukee for getting Amanda Merkwae of the ACLU of Wisconsin on camera to talk through Mayor Cavalier Johnson's new restrictions on Milwaukee PD's Flock access. Limiting who can query the system to supervisors and narrowing the 'scenarios' for use sounds like progress, and compared to the free-for-all access policies we've seen in other cities, it is. But let's be clear about what this is: a policy tweak, not a structural fix. Policies are internal rules that can be rewritten by the next chief, the next mayor, or the next council vote — they don't bind the technology itself, and they don't show up in court when someone wants to know why their movements were logged.

The real issue the ACLU is circling is one we hammer on constantly: once a city has hundreds of cameras logging every plate that passes, no 'supervisor-only' rule changes the fact that a searchable database of where everyone drives now exists. Supervisor approval is a speed bump, not a wall. Audit logs can be reviewed after the fact, sure, but that's cold comfort to the person whose location history was already pulled for a 'scenario' nobody outside the department gets to scrutinize in real time. Milwaukee deserves credit for responding to pressure, but the fix that actually protects residents is public, enforceable limits on retention, sharing, and use — written into ordinance, not department memo.

If you're in Milwaukee or anywhere else wondering how many of these cameras are already watching your commute, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and if you want to push your own city council toward real accountability instead of a press-release policy, our take-action page has the tools to get started.