Facial Recognition Tech Leads to Wrongful Arrests: Why Cops Shouldn’t Be Trusted with It
Facial recognition technology has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. Despite being touted as a powerful tool for law enforcement, it’s clear that the technology still has a long way to go before it can be considered reliable. In fact, recent studies have shown that facial recognition tech is wrong up to 96% of the time, particularly when it comes to identifying minorities and women.
Despite these flaws, law enforcement agencies continue to use facial recognition technology as a mainstream tool. And as we’ve seen in recent cases, this has led to a number of wrongful arrests based on nothing more than digital conclusions drawn by underperforming tech.
One such case occurred in Maryland, where Alonzo Sawyer was wrongfully arrested for an assault and theft he didn’t commit. The facial recognition software used by the Maryland Transit Administration Police said his face matched the CCTV footage, but ignored other obvious discrepancies, such as the fact that Sawyer was seven inches taller and 20 years older than the actual suspect.
Thanks to this failure, Maryland state senator Charles Syndor is once again seeking to block facial recognition tech use by government agencies. His first attempt, mounted in 2021, failed to go anywhere. But with a wrongful arrest now on the record, Senator Syndor figures this is the best time to push legislation seeking to regulate law enforcement use of unproven (and unregulated) tech.
Until cops are willing to be honest and open about this tech, they shouldn’t be trusted with it. And no cop agency should be allowed to use nothing more than a purported match to obtain arrest warrants or stop citizens going about their daily business. The tech is too raw to trust. And if cops think it actually works as well as advertised, it’s only because they want their preexisting biases to be confirmed.
In recent years, facial recognition technology has become an key tool for law enforcement agencies worldwide. The technology has been used to catch criminals, uncover identity fraud, and locate missing persons with pin-sharp accuracy. However, what happens when technology gets it wrong? What if facial recognition technology is used haphazardly, resulting in the wrongful arrest of an innocent man?
This nightmare came to fruition for Robert Williams, a 42-year-old black man from Farmington Hills, Maryland. In January 2020, Mr. Williams was arrested following an investigation into a shoplifting incident which occurred two years prior. The arrest was the product of a controversial facial recognition analysis that declared Mr. Williams an match for the suspect.
Following his arrest, Mr. Williams was held for thirty hours inside a police station, with no indication of his alleged crime. His fingerprints, DNA, and photographs were also taken before being released on bail. It was not until he returned to the police station that he learned that he was arrested in connection with a shoplifting incident at a Shinola store in Detroit.
Mr. Williams was absolutely confounded by the allegations of shoplifting, since he had never been to the Shinola store, let alone steal from it. What was most unsettling to Mr. Williams, however, was how the Detroit police identified him as a suspect. The police used facial recognition technology obtained from the security camera footage, which mistakenly matched the image to Mr. Williams’ photograph from his driver’s license.
The use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement agencies has increased exponentially in recent years. Major technology companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have been involved in the development of facial recognition platforms that have been sold to police departments across the United States. Despite the promise of facial recognition technology to improve public safety, this case highlights how the widespread adoption of facial recognition technology can lead to the wrongful arrests of innocent individuals.
In response to Mr. Williams’ case, Detroit police defended their use of facial recognition technology to identify shoplifting suspects, stating that the technology has been vital in catching thousands of criminals. The Detroit police have affirmed their use of facial recognition technology, arguing that it has been a valuable resource used to identify potential criminals and prevent serious offenses.
It is critical, however, that the use of facial recognition technology is implemented with caution. The potential for misuse, and for the wrongful arrests of innocent individuals, is significant. There must be greater regulation surrounding the use of facial recognition technology, including the improvement of accuracy rates, measures for transparency, and respect for individuals’ privacy.
In conclusion, Mr. Williams’ case sheds light on the significant drawbacks associated with facial recognition technology. While the adoption of facial recognition technology can aid in public safety, it is crucial that significant safeguards are put in place to protect individuals from being identified and arrested unjustly. It is also necessary to reduce the likelihood of such technology being used to criminalize marginalized communities. The harms of inappropriate facial recognition technology outweigh its benefits, and therefore should be reconsidered.
