Milwaukee County parks could soon be free of automated license plate readers after a county board committee voted unanimously to yank fixed Flock Condor cameras and other plate-scanning equipment from 11 county parks. The resolution now heads to the full Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, with a vote expected Thursday, Oct. 1.
The Milwaukee County Board’s Committee on Parks and Culture approved the measure this week, directing the county to remove the cameras entirely, according to wispolitics.com. If the full board adopts it, the resolution would direct the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, working with Corporation Counsel, to remove all fixed Flock Condor and automated license plate reader equipment from county property zoned as parks, then report back to the board once the removal is finished and before the end of the year. As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the county currently uses fixed-pole Flock Safety cameras and other automatic license plate reading equipment at 11 county parks, and plans call for replacing them with conventional security cameras.
A County Executive Already Backing Away From Flock
The park-camera vote lands alongside a broader pullback from County Executive David Crowley, who does not plan to renew the county's contract with Flock Safety when it expires at the end of 2026, per WISN. Milwaukee County currently operates 42 Flock cameras on park property and six more on county roads or equipment, the station reports, and the county spent $156,000 on the cameras in 2026 after spending $142,000 in 2025.
Crowley also issued a directive Monday limiting Flock camera use on county property and ordering officials to draft binding surveillance-technology standards, according to Fox6 News. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office has already cut its Flock data retention window from 30 days to seven, and now requires documentation of a case number, offense type and search justification every time someone runs a search, the station notes.
Supervisors Line Up Behind the Resolution
Supervisor Justin Bielinski authored the resolution, which drew seven cosponsors — Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez, Jack Eckblad, Anne O'Connor, Caroline Gómez-Tom, Shawn Rolland, Leevan Roundtree and Steven Shea — according to wispolitics.com's reporting on the committee action. The Journal Sentinel, whose report on the vote carried the byline of reporter David Clarey, was published the afternoon of the committee's decision.
Part of a Statewide Retreat From the Technology
Milwaukee County's move fits a pattern spreading across southeastern Wisconsin, where at least a dozen local governments and police departments have already moved to stop using Flock technology, per WISN's reporting. Racine's Common Council voted to terminate its Flock contract with Mayor Cory Mason breaking a 7-7 tie to end the deal, while Oconomowoc's council voted 5-2 to cancel its contract — a move that could cost the city $18,000 in 2027 — and Waukesha's council voted to stop funding its Flock program after 2026, according to WISN's coverage of those votes. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling separately ordered all Flock cameras removed from his department's use after learning the system may have collected and retained more information than his office understood or agreed to, Urban Milwaukee reported.
Dane County offers an earlier example of the same trend: its board voted in April to cut $80,000 in funding for 24 Flock cameras and ban further spending on the system, and the resulting shutdown severed Dane County's data from a shared network once accessed by 140 other law enforcement agencies, according to Ars Technica.
A National Backlash Over Privacy and Data
A National Backlash Over Privacy and Data Flock Safety has responded by shortening its default data-retention period from 30 days to seven and adding an Evidence Mode meant to preserve footage tied to active investigations, the network reports.
For now, Milwaukee County parkgoers are watching to see whether the full board follows its committee's lead Thursday. If it does, the county's Parks, Recreation and Culture Department will have until the end of the year to strip the cameras from park grounds and report back on the job.
