The following report is by Biometric Update:
A release from the ACLU says the settlement prohibits police from arresting people based solely on facial recognition results, or on the results of photo lineups using facial recognition search. Michigan police cannot conduct a lineup based solely on a facial recognition lead, without “independent and reliable evidence linking a suspect to a crime.”
Officers who file requests to use facial recognition algorithms will need to fill out additional forms that “document critical information.
And police must be trained on facial recognition technology to “minimize the risk of wrongful arrests driven by facial recognition technology (FRT) – especially of Black people, who are at greater risk of misidentification by FRT.”
There is also a retroactive element, in an audit that will look at any arrest warrant attached to the use of facial recognition systems going back to 2017.
Williams’ arrest in 2020 was based on a facial match found between low-quality security camera footage and a photo lineup. He speaks of how the wrongful arrest for the alleged theft of some watches traumatized his family and says he hopes the settlement will make it “far less likely to happen again to another person in Detroit.”
“With this painful chapter of our lives closing,” he says, “my wife and I will continue raising awareness about the dangers of this technology.” Williams, who will also receive monetary damages as part of the settlement, had petitioned for a total ban on the use of facial recognition by Michigan law enforcement.
A report from NPR quotes a statement from the Detroit Police Department, which says it amended its facial recognition policy in 2023 following the wrongful arrest of Porcha Woodruff, a Black woman accused of carjacking after a facial biometrics mismatch.
Following the incident, the Department created a policy specific to facial recognition that included three independent sign offs before being approved for use in an investigation. The policy also makes it clear that a facial recognition match can only be used as a tip to further an investigation, and that it cannot be used as the basis for someone being named as a suspect in an investigation.
Read the rest of the report here.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Jeremiah 5:26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men
All this AI and facial recognition is just a load of garbage. It’s inconsistent, inaccurate and biased, and in no way should be dependent on or quite frankly be used; so at least Michigan, amongst its other issues, is at least doing something to wrangle this in. Of course, I’m sure some police departments will use this is as an excuse to complain about being too restricted to stop crimes.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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I am surprised by nothing governments do anymore. This is a sick, sick world we live in run by insecure, beta male types and females as well, oh, let’s not forget LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ’ers who are also part of it. They will use any means available to arrest innocent people.
If Robert Williams had not pushed it legally, you can imagine how much worse it will get. That said, he probably only delayed it until the dust settles. The creatures will crawl back into their den and seek a work-around…matter of time. They will not let this stop them
Michigan banks were fingerprinting their own customers just for routine bank business at least since 1988, so this is not much of a surprise. They have had this prison mentality against ordinary citizens for a long time.