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Is there audio surveillance at Green Bay City Hall?

By Tom Kertscher
YES

The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, confirmed in a statement Feb. 10, 2023, that the City Hall security system includes audio surveillance.

According to the statement:

  • Following complaints from city staff and the public, the city enhanced the security system on the first and second floors of City Hall between winter 2021 and summer 2022.
  • City Hall has 14 surveillance cameras in public areas. Three, in the first- and second-floor hallways, can record audio.
  • Footage is not continuously monitored, but video and audio have been reviewed to gather information about accidents, altercations and damage to property.

The statement was posted “in the interest of sharing factual information and to correct any misinformation.”

The statement followed news reports about existence of the audio surveillance. One councilman called it "spying."

An ACLU official in Washington said he had never heard of another city hall using audio surveillance.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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