Although the Milwaukee Police Department halted its use of facial recognition technology in February, there are still cases being prosecuted in Milwaukee County in which the technology was used at some point in the investigation. This means concerns about the technology – and the potential errors it can introduce – still remain, community members told NNS. Facial recognition technology uses artificial intelligence to identify someone by comparing a photo of an unknown face to a database of images of known faces. “The reliability of these systems is certainly in question, and particularly the disproportionate risk of inaccuracy when identifying non-white faces,” said Amanda Merkwae, policy and advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. Questions also remain about whether defendants and their lawyers have always been told when facial recognition technology played a role in an investigation. MPD and facial recognition In April 2025, the Milwaukee Police Department acknowledged it had, for two to three years, used other agencies’ licenses to obtain facial recognition search results without having a written department policy governing the practice. At the same time, MPD was considering expanding its access to facial recognition technology through an agreement with the company Biometrica. The proposal provoked substantial opposition from residents and civil rights groups who raised concerns about misidentification, racial bias, surveillance and public trust. Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman announced in February that MPD would prohibit its members from using facial recognition technology and would not consider acquiring the technology until after the department develops a policy with the Fire and Police Commission. However, the moratorium did not eliminate the technology from criminal cases in which it had already been used. MPD did not respond to questions about its policies and practices relating to disclosing the use of facial recognition to the DA’s office.