LAPD experimenting with facial recognition software

[Newsjock]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/10497909.htm

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department is experimenting with facial-recognition software it says will help identify suspects, but civil liberties advocates say the technology raises privacy concerns and may not identity people accurately.

... In one recent incident, two officers suspected two men illegally riding double on a bicycle of being gang members. If they were, they may have been violating an injunction that barred those named in a court documents from gathering in public and other activities.

As the officers questioned the men, Rampart Division Senior Lead Officer Mike Wang pointed a hand-held computer with an attached camera at one of the men. Facial-recognition software compared his image image to those of recent fugitives, as well as dozens of members of local gangs.

Within seconds, the screen displayed nine faces that had contours similar to the man's. The computer said the image of one particular gang member subject to the injunction was 94 percent likely to be a match.

That enough to trigger a search that yielded a small amount of methamphetamine. The man did turn out to be the gang member, and was arrested on suspicion of violating the injunction by possessing illegal drugs. The city attorney's office has not yet decided whether to charge the man.

more

[Eric J in MN]

1. It's against the law to ride double on a bicycle?

Now police can stop you for any stupid reason, and search or arrest you if a face in a database is vaguely similar to your face, or they claim it is.

[Newsjock]

2. All those laws

I'm too lazy to look up the stats, but in most cities there are so many obscure laws -- many of them contradictory -- that even "law-abiding" citizens violate hundreds of them on any given day. Thus, the authorities have "cause" to detain anyone they want at any time.

[TahitiNut]

6. "probable cause" = having a face?

Just another step toward a permanent police state where people lose their rights to 'due process' and 'probable cause' for an entire lifetime once they run afoul of law enforcement, even if not convicted.

[amazona]

3. it really isn't very accurate

Unless it has really been improved over the last couple years, I could tell some tales. One so-called facial recognition program pulled up my name for a half-Japanese woman over a decade younger than I am. I'm Caucasian. Not too impressive. And this was in 2001. I think it is largely a hoax to sell some overpriced software and inaccurate data bases.

[Eric J in MN]

4. the artilce said their seeking federal money to expand this

Our federal tax dollars for a traditional state matter.

[zann725]

5. Sounds like LAPD! They've been WAY ahead of the Fascist 'curve' for years

n/t

[Florida_Geek]

7. Tampa PD tried it and turned it OFF

They did not catch ONE person with it. IT is BS.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Oddly, when I first glanced at this thread I read...

"LAPD experimenting with racial recognition software"