Milwaukee County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Milwaukee County.
Technology presence
What these categories mean
- ALPR
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): camera systems that automatically capture, read, and log vehicle license plates with location and time, producing a searchable record of vehicle movements.
- Fixed cameras & RTCC
- Agency-operated fixed video cameras and the real-time crime centers (RTCC) that aggregate live and recorded feeds for monitoring. Extends the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas, which enumerates real-time crime centers and camera registries but not standalone fixed-camera estates.
- Face recognition
- Software that matches faces in images or video against a reference database to identify or verify individuals.
- Drones / UAS
- Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, operated by an agency for overhead observation, imaging, or sensing.
- Gunshot detection
- Networks of acoustic sensors that detect and locate suspected gunfire and alert an agency.
- Body-worn & dashcam
- Officer body-worn and in-vehicle dashboard cameras that record encounters; public access to the footage is frequently restricted.
- Doorbell & camera registry
- Programs that give an agency access to privately owned camera footage: doorbell-camera partnerships, citizen camera registries, and private-camera integration platforms.
- Cell-site simulators
- Devices that mimic cell towers to locate or identify nearby mobile phones. They are often called Stingrays, or IMSI catchers after the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number that identifies each phone on a network. Adjacent: communications surveillance outside the visual/sensor core.
- Predictive policing
- Software that forecasts where crime may occur or who may be involved, to direct policing. Adjacent: analytics rather than a sensing deployment.
- Social-media monitoring
- Tools that collect and analyze public social-media activity for an agency. Adjacent: open-source/communications monitoring outside the visual/sensor core.
The record, by agency
Milwaukee Police Department
The Milwaukee Police Department uses DJI drones. In 2025, the agency purchased 16 drones using a $295,000 allocation of its federal asset forfeiture funds.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): ACLUWisconsin ExaminerMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Police Department utilizes the Fusus camera registry and video integration system.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): CBS58City of Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Police Department has installed 27 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023, with plans to install eight more.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
The Milwaukee Police Department replaced its Harris Corp. cell-site simulator with a Tactical Support Equipment device in 2019.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin ExaminerMucRockVocativ
Some officers in the Milwaukee Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
The Milwaukee Police Department began using ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology in 2010.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Public Radio
Brown Deer Police Department
The Brown Deer Police Department has had a drone program since at least 2021.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Village of Brown DeerCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.browndeerwi.org
The Brown Deer Police Department has installed two Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
All officers in the Brown Deer Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Greenfield Police Department
The Greenfield Police Department has installed 21 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023, with plans to install eight more.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
All officers in the Greenfield Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
The Greenfield Police Department operates one drone as of 2017, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.jsonline.com
West Allis Police Department
The West Allis Police Department has installed 20 Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded $196,500 to the West Allis Police Department from 2015-2017 as part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's body-worn camera grant program.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): U.S Department of JusticeU.S Department of Justice
The West Allis Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of West Allis
South Milwaukee Police Department
The South Milwaukee Police Department has installed two Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
All officers in the South Milwaukee Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Wauwatosa Police Department
The Wauwatosa Police Department has been using automated license plate readers since at least 2013. The department installed 10 Flock Safety ALPRs in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6City of Wauwatosa
Some officers in the Wauwatosa Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Oak Creek Police Department
The Oak Creek Police Department has installed seven Flock Safety automated license plate readers as of August 2023, with plans to install four more.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Fox 6
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office
Some officers in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Department
All officers in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Wisconsin State Capitol Police Department
The Wisconsin State Capitol Police Department operates one drone as of 2017, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.faa.govdoa.wi.gov
Franklin Police Department
The Franklin Police Department operates one drone as of 2018, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard Collegewww.franklinwi.gov
The Franklin Police Department maintains a voluntary registry of private and personal surveillance cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Franklin
Bayside Police Department
All officers in the Bayside Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Greendale Police Department
All officers in the Greendale Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Hales Corners Police Department
All officers in the Hales Corners Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
River Hills Police Department
Some officers in the River Hills Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Shorewood Police Department
All officers in the Shorewood Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
St. Francis Police Department
All officers in the St. Francis Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
West Milwaukee Police Department
All officers in the West Milwaukee Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department
Some officers in the Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department wear body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Wisconsin Department of Justice
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026