MILWAUKEE — Persisting security issues still plague public housing buildings in Milwaukee that are managed by the city’s Housing Authority.
The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) manages more than 5,000 households.
In the past two months, Spectrum News investigated complaints at two different public housing buildings run by HACM: College Court and Locust Court.
Through a public records request, Milwaukee Police Department reports showed nearly 800 calls to both buildings in just over a year.
Another records request to the Housing Authority revealed its internal public safety department received nearly 1,300 calls to College Court from Jan. 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. In that same timeframe, it received nearly 900 calls to Locust Court.
For residents who live there, concerns regarding security breaches are a near-daily occurrence.
Not only do they feel that HACM is doing little to address these issues, but also that it is not informing them of changes that may impact their own safety.
“They leave us out of the loop a lot when they make changes and I feel like us as tenants, they need to keep us informed of those types of changes because we live here,” Felicia Shoates said, a resident at Locust Court.
Spectrum News Watchdog Reporter Megan Carpenter first visited Locust Court on May 15. At that visit, it was discovered that eight camera feeds in a room labeled Public Safety showed feeds that were black and said VIDEO LOSS.
In an email exchange with Spectrum News on May 28, Housing Authority Communications Director Amy Hall shared the following in response to the cameras.
“HACM has been making updates to the camera system at Locust Court. All indoor cameras have been replaced with newer technology and were functional during the timeframes you referenced. They continue to operate as they should. The ‘VIDEO LOSS’ message in the residents’ video stream is from cameras that were replaced. A way for residents to view the video feed from the new cameras has not been set up yet. The existing cameras outside the building are operational and will be replaced this summer. Both the old and new camera systems are monitored by Public Safety and building managers.”
On June 8, a week after this exchange, Shoates alerted Spectrum News that the camera monitors referred to above were now gone.
What alarmed her the most was a reported hit-and-run in the building’s back parking lot the day before. A Milwaukee police officer responded to the call.
Per a police report that cites a Housing Authority security guard, the officer was told that all the cameras on the exterior of the building and in the parking area were not working.
“[The tenant] contacted public safety and the police and was informed there was no camera footage,” Shoates said.
The police report further said, “no video available to assist.”
“We as tenants should be informed about these things for our own safety and HACM refuses to give us this information,” Shoates said.
As noted, a week prior to the reported hit-and-run, the Housing Authority said all the building’s cameras were operational.
Neither Hall nor Housing Authority Chief of Public Safety Marlon Davis responded to a request for a phone conversation after messages were left at their offices.
Instead, Hall sent the following email to Spectrum News:
“Two outdoor cameras were and continue to be operational. Two additional cameras are not currently in service due to a damaged cable that needs to be replaced. All outdoor cameras at Locust Court will be replaced this summer.”
Hall’s response contradicted information she provided on May 28 and the police report from June 7.
When asked for more clarification, she sent the following statement:
“HACM acknowledges a May 28 email communication stating all cameras at Locust Court were operational. That information was based on the best available data at that time. Unfortunately, a damaged cable affecting two cameras was discovered. HACM and its Public Safety Department are unaware of any reason why a housing authority employee would have informed an MPD officer on June 7 that none of the outdoor cameras were functional. We take this discrepancy seriously and are committed to ensuring all HACM staff have access to accurate information regarding the security system. To enhance overall security at Locust Court, the HACM IT department is actively working on replacing all outdoor cameras.”
She also said the monitors in the public safety office in the lobby were removed because they were no longer in use.
Shoates said security camera monitors may exist in the property manager’s office, but she has yet to see them.
Hall also said the Housing Authority’s public safety department has no record of a hit-and-run occurring at Locust Court.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Shoates said. “It makes me, as a tenant living in this building, feel more unsafe.”