The Milwaukee Police Department plans to renew its contract with Flock Safety, keeping a network of license-plate-reading cameras in place despite a series of misuse cases and growing opposition across Wisconsin. An MPD spokesperson said the department would renew the agreement “to maintain the investigative and public safety benefits the system provides.” The department did not disclose the contract’s cost or renewal term in the information provided. Flock cameras photograph passing vehicles and license plates, then store the images in a database that law enforcement can search. Police departments say the system can help investigate serious crimes, including gun violence, theft and kidnapping. Privacy advocates and residents have raised concerns about the breadth of the surveillance and the potential for officers to use it improperly. Those concerns are especially acute in Milwaukee, where former detective Tehrangi Chapman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony misconduct in public office and misdemeanor misuse of a GPS device. Chapman is accused of searching Flock data to track two people about 20 times for personal reasons and placing a GPS device on one of their vehicles. He had monitored the individuals before the city adopted Flock in 2022. Chapman had also worked on an internal affairs investigation of former Milwaukee officer Josue Ayala, who used Flock to track an ex-girlfriend and her new partner more than 170 times. Ayala received probation and did not serve prison time. In both Milwaukee cases, the people targeted reported the alleged surveillance. A public website, Have I Been Flocked, has helped people check whether their vehicles appeared in the system. Officers or sheriff’s deputies have also faced Flock-related charges in Kenosha County and Menasha. In response to concerns, MPD has restricted system access to supervisors, limited the types of crimes for which searches can be conducted, increased audits to identify suspicious activity and created a public transparency portal. The department has also restricted outside agencies, including other local jurisdictions, from using its network. A key selling point of Flock systems is the ability to search across networks shared by thousands of law enforcement agencies. The planned renewal comes as other local governments move in the opposite direction. The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted last week to remove Flock cameras from county property. The sheriff’s office, which supported keeping them, said certain crimes around county parks fell 43% between 2023 and 2026 and credited the cameras. Across Wisconsin, Stevens Point, Fond du Lac County, Winnebago County, Sheboygan, Verona, Stoughton, Dane County, Sturgeon Bay, Appleton and Manitowoc are among the communities that have worked to cancel Flock contracts or disable cameras. Milwaukee’s decision means the city will retain the system while maintaining the restrictions and audits adopted after concerns about its use.