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License-plate readers · Waukesha

Waukesha

Using license-plate readers · 8 agencies documented

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Brookfield Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Aug. 2026 Brookfield aldermen were reconsidering the Flock contract, which comes up for renewal in July 2027 (Alderwoman Catherine Kahler). (The Freeman (GMToday), Aug. 14, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No camera count, contract amount or vote found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Delafield Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Aug. 2026 Chief Landon Nyren defended the Flock program, saying cameras sit in higher-crime areas and the department audits its practices. (Washington County Daily News (GMToday), Aug. 20, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No count or contract found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Muskego Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Freeman: cameras at entry and exit points; no count given.
  1. Aug. 2026 Muskego police described their Flock safeguards to the Freeman: 30-day retention, individual logins, a reason and incident number for each search, and monthly audits. (The Freeman (GMToday), Aug. 12, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Start year and contract not found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

New Berlin Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. March 23, 2023 New Berlin police first put Flock cameras into service on March 23 (the Freeman article, dated Sept. 2023, gives no year; 2023 is inferred). (The Freeman (GMToday), Sept. 28, 2023)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Department did not disclose camera count or locations. No 2025-2026 confirmation of continued use found; the city announcement PDF (newberlinwi.gov DocumentCenter/View/18772) could not be retrieved.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Oconomowoc Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Sept. 2026 The Oconomowoc Common Council voted 5-2 to drop its Flock contract. WISN reported that getting out early could cost the city $18,000 in 2027, the last year the deal would have run. (WISN 12, Sept. 16, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The vote was on a 'Tuesday' before the Sept. 16 article (likely Sept. 15, 2026); only YYYY-MM used. No camera count. Shutdown of the cameras is not confirmed from a citable source.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Village of Pewaukee Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. Aug. 2026 Chief Timothy Heier pointed to the department's 91% clearance rate for retail-theft cases in 2025 as an example of how Flock cameras help investigations. (The Freeman (GMToday), Aug. 12, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No count or contract found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Waukesha County Sheriff's Office

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count found.
  1. Nov. 24, 2025 The Wisconsin Examiner analyzed the office's Flock search logs from January 2024 to July 2025, which it got through open-records requests. A sheriff's lieutenant said office rules require deputies to note Flock use in their reports, limit it to real criminal investigations, and keep every search on a log that can be audited. (Wisconsin Examiner (republished by Urban Milwaukee), Nov. 24, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Use is documented through July 2025. No 2026 statement from the office about continuing or ending Flock was found, and contract/county board records were not located.
  • Most recent documented use is in Flock search data for Jan. 2024-July 2025; with no source from the last 12 months showing use or a current contract, status is unconfirmed (editor's rule, Oct. 30, 2026).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Waukesha Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
22
19 cameras under the 2023 five-year contract plus 3 added in Sept. 2025 (22 total), per city cover sheets; whether all 22 were installed is not confirmed.
Contract
Flock Safety: $284,350 term · approved by Waukesha Common Council, 2023-12-05 · Five-year (60-month) order form for 19 cameras: $61,550 in year 1, then $55,700 a year. The cover sheet says the account was approved for $286,500 over five years. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), Dec. 5, 2023; City of Waukesha (Legistar), Dec. 5, 2023; City of Waukesha (Legistar), Nov. 30, 2023)
Contract
Flock Safety: $19,950 term · approved by Waukesha Finance Committee, 2025-09-09 · Three added cameras for a 24-month initial term, paid for by a $20,000 donation from Woodman's. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), Sept. 9, 2025; City of Waukesha (Legistar), Sept. 9, 2025)
  1. June 7, 2022 City Council approved, by consent, a no-cost pilot test of Flock plate-reader cameras (Finance Committee approved 2022-05-31). Staff estimated roughly $3,000 per camera per year if the city bought them. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), June 7, 2022; City of Waukesha (Legistar), May 31, 2022)
  2. Dec. 5, 2023 City Council approved a five-year agreement with Flock Group for the Flock Safety platform. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), Dec. 5, 2023)
  3. Sept. 9, 2025 Finance Committee approved adding three Flock cameras funded by a Woodman's donation. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), Sept. 9, 2025)
  4. Sept. 15, 2026 City Council voted 13-0 (Chrisien and Wuteska absent) to amend the 2027-2031 Community Investment Program and remove $292,000 for the Flock program, ending funding after 2026. The CIP as amended then passed 12-1. (City of Waukesha (Legistar), Sept. 15, 2026; TMJ4, Sept. 16, 2026; The Freeman (GMToday), Sept. 18, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Chief Dan Thompson said his concerns were with the vendor, not plate-reader technology (Freeman). The council also funded $124,000 for the Opti-Cop video system, which the department says does not identify vehicles; it is not a plate reader. Flock stays in use through the end of 2026.

From agency records.

Statewide

  1. Aug. 2023 FOX6 reported that the Wisconsin Department of Justice said it does not keep track of Flock cameras, and that Wisconsin had no law setting retention periods for plate-reader data. (FOX6 News Milwaukee, Aug. 2, 2023)
  2. 2025 Lobbying registrations on AB 300 with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission: the ACLU of Wisconsin registered against (6/8/2025); the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association (6/10/2025), the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (6/23/2025) and Flock Group Inc. (7/25/2025) registered in favor; the Wisconsin Grocers Association registered 'other' (6/19/2025). (Wisconsin Ethics Commission (lobbying.wi.gov), date not shown)
  3. 2025 The Wisconsin Examiner, citing OpenSecrets, reported that Flock spent $102,000 on lobbying in Wisconsin in 2025, and that AB 300 and SB 299 did not pass. (Wisconsin Examiner (republished by Urban Milwaukee), Aug. 28, 2026)
  4. May 30, 2025 Senate Bill 299, by Sens. James and Wanggaard, was introduced to create a state grant program (new s. 165.985) for buying automated registration plate reader systems; it was referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, and the Legislature's page shows no later action. (Wisconsin State Legislature, date not shown)
  5. June 6, 2025 Assembly Bill 300, the companion grant-program bill by Rep. Novak and 13 other representatives, was introduced and referred to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety; the Legislature's page shows no later action. (Wisconsin State Legislature, date not shown)
  6. Aug. 6, 2025 A Wisconsin Examiner analysis of Flock network audit data found that at least 221 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies used Flock from Jan. 1 to May 31, 2025. (Wisconsin Examiner, Aug. 6, 2025)
  7. Sept. 2026 Attorney General Josh Kaul, speaking at a Rotary Club event, called on the Legislature to pass a state law governing how plate readers may be used, including a general bar on selling ALPR data to private companies. (CBS 58 says Tuesday; its story is dated Sept. 8, 2026.) (CBS 58 (WDJT), Sept. 8, 2026)
  8. Sept. 2026 State Rep. Calvin Callahan, chair of the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, said government use of Flock cameras should be prohibited unless it comes with warrants, judicial oversight and strict retention limits, and said he would hold a committee hearing on surveillance cameras when the Legislature returns in January. No bill number was cited. (WSAW says the statement came on a Tuesday; the story is dated Sept. 15, 2026.) (WSAW NewsChannel 7, Sept. 15, 2026)
  9. Sept. 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany said that if elected he would pause state funding for Flock and create a privacy task force; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democratic candidate for governor, directed county departments to limit Flock use. (Wisconsin Public Radio, Sept. 2, 2026)