Wrongful Arrest In Detroit Linked To Facial Recognition

Countries like China have implemented technology like facial recognition to help with law enforcement, and we’ve seen how it has actually come in handy, like when the tech helped police spot a suspect in a crowd during a pop concert. However, this does not mean that facial recognition is reliable.

There have been multiple reports and studies done that suggests that facial recognition tech is far from accurate and tends to be biased, and it looks like another example has surfaced over in Detroit. According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, it seems that police had wrongfully arrested a man they thought was the suspect in a theft case where the suspect was caught on camera breaking into a car and stealing a phone that was inside of it.

When the tech was employed to analyze the video, it led police to Michael Oliver who was also identified in a photo lineup by the victim, eventually leading to his arrest. However, Oliver protested that it was not him in the video, and more evidence later on proved that to be true, such as how Oliver had tattoos on his arms while the person in the video did not. The case was later dismissed by a judge.

While there is potential behind facial recognition technology, the current state of it suggests that more work needs to be done. There have been several cities across the US that are banning the use of the technology, like in Boston and also San Francisco.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Legal, Privacy