Milwaukee police drone program; support, concern over growth

MILWAUKEE - Should the Milwaukee Police Department use drones to keep the public safe? Supporters of a new pilot program say yes, but opponents have privacy concerns.

MPD drone program

The backstory:

The Milwaukee police drone team launched before last summer's Republican National Convention.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

MPD policies said drones could be used for things like: 

• Land and water searches/rescues
• Port security
• Active threats
• Event management for protests/street takeovers
• Evidence collection and crash reconstruction
• Support of patrol operations with team commander approval (foot pursuits, warrant services, shots-fired complaints)

As of March, city documents showed MPD owned eight drones and had plans to buy more for field-testing and patrol operations. Documents said the police department paid for the drones with what was seized from suspected criminals.

MPD's Airborne Assessment Team had one full-time member and one part-time member in March. A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission document from that month said the plan was to grow to four full-time pilots and possibly 14 more patrol officers on secondary flight duties.

Push for drones

What they're saying:

"This is something we need to embrace," said Dan Steininger. "This is something that can help all of us secure us, make us feel better, and save lives and save officers' lives, as well."

Steininger leads the Daniel Hoan Foundation, named after his grandfather and the city's long-time mayor. In 2023, the foundation held a contest asking for innovative ideas to keep people safe. The winning ideas – each getting $10,000 – called for the use of drones.

"Were you on the freeway and someone went by at 98 miles an hour and say, ‘I hope somebody gets him,' or someone stole your car. Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew that you could never get away with it? A drone will monitor anyone who steals a car, and follow it until it runs out of gas," he said.

"For the bad guys, you're not going to get away with your crime. You're going to be recorded. The drone is going to follow you until you get arrested, and then when you go to court, you don't have people – don't have to worry about testifying against you. We all heard about snitches get stitches. The video recording of you stealing a car or driving over 100 miles an hour on the freeway is going to be entered in a courtroom, and you can be found guilty, and you're going to go to jail, and you don't have to have a human being doing it."

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Steininger is behind the scenes pushing Milwaukee police to use more drones. That push started with the foundation's 2023 contest. There is a new contest going on this year that will award $40,000 with a theme of improving government services.

Anyone with an idea can learn more on the contest's website.

Opponents concerned

The other side:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin has worries.

"Deploying a fleet, which seems like a large number that would be flying over the city at all times, seems pretty dystopian to me," said Amanda Merkwae with the ACLU. "I think it’s important that we don’t sleep walk into a world of unchecked, widespread, aerial surveillance without members of the community having input.

"Do we want to live like we are living in a place like China where big brother truly is always watching?" she added. "Do we want to live in Milwaukee, where the government knows where you are at all times? Where the government knows where and when you go to church, where and when you go to a medical appointment, when you’re attending a union meeting?"