Law Enforcement Obscures Use of Facial Recognition Technology
by Sam Rutherford
According to an investigative report conducted by the Washington Post and follow-up reporting on TechDirt.com, police departments nationwide are hiding the fact that they are identifying criminal suspects using facial recognition software.
A Washington Post article reports that hundreds of Americans have been arrested after being connected to a crime by facial recognition software but never knew it because law enforcement did not disclose their use of the controversial technology. The article is based on records obtained from 15 police departments documenting their use of facial recognition software over the past four years.
For example, Deputy Chief Ryan Gallagher of the Coral Springs Police Department in South Florida wrote in a memo to officers “not to document this investigative lead,” referring to matches generated by facial recognition. “The department would disclose the source of the investigative lead if it were asked in a criminal proceeding,” Gallagher added.
Other internal records showed that police often hide their reliance on facial recognition technology in public-facing reports, instead claiming that suspects were identified “through investigative means” or that a human source such as a witness or police officer made the initial identification.
So, why would law enforcement seek to hide its reliance on such investigative techniques, especially since the existence of facial recognition technology is common knowledge? The answer is simple—by not informing defendants or their attorneys about their reliance on such technology, police have effectively deprived them of their constitutional right to challenge the evidence or the investigative methods employed. By insulating their investigative techniques from oversight by either the courts or legislature, law enforcement have ensured they can continue using the technology however they see fit.
Defendants would be wise to make specific pretrial discovery requests to determine whether police relied on facial recognition software or other, similar mass surveillance technology during the investigative process. Identifying such use and then investigating the methods by which evidence was obtained is likely the only way of challenging these practices in court.
Sources: Washington Post, TechDirt.com
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