Milwaukee County has ordered stronger limits for license plate reader operations on county property while enforceable, countywide safeguards are developed.
What the county ordered
County Executive David Crowley directed county departments and the Sheriff’s Office to limit Flock camera operations on county property while binding surveillance-technology standards are developed. The action does not eliminate ALPR technology. It places clear rules and public accountability ahead of further expansion.
Safeguards now being developed
- Defined permitted and prohibited uses
- Limits on who may access the system
- Clear retention and deletion requirements
- Rules for sharing data outside the county
- No immigration-enforcement use without a judicial warrant
- Independent audits and consequences for misuse
- A public transparency framework
Flock remains the identified platform. The announcement did not state a procurement value, replacement solicitation or deadline for completing the new standards.
What municipal leaders should take from it
Milwaukee County’s requirements form a practical, vendor-neutral checklist. A strong procurement should require the technology itself—not only an administrative policy—to enforce retention, access, sharing and auditing rules.
Usability matters too. Safeguards must work during real investigations. Authentication, purpose-based searches, approvals, alerts, evidence export and supervisor review should feel like one coherent workflow.
Keep the capability. Strengthen local control.
Umbrella helps public agencies evaluate ALPR policy, system architecture, data ownership, deployment and migration before selecting equipment.
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