Facial recognition tech a boon for law enforcement

Facial recognition technology has become a lightning rod for debate in Massachusetts.
Proponents of the technology — and, yes, I’m one of them — argue that it helps law enforcement
to investigate and solve crime. Opponents say the technology has outpaced the law and needs
to be regulated.

I think the answer is simple: lawmakers should debate the issues; legislate reasonable
safeguards, if needed; and enable law enforcement to get on with using a valuable tool to find
criminals and keep our communities safe.

And polling shows facial recognition is a tool that most Massachusetts residents want law
enforcement to use to keep them safe.

Unfortunately, some legislators mistakenly proposed bills that would ban government use of
facial recognition and biometrics technology — in opposition to the wishes of residents.

Recent survey results from Pew Research Center found a majority of Americans (56%)
trust law enforcement to use facial recognition technology responsibly.

Polling by Savanta found Bay Staters are actually more supportive of allowing law enforcement
to use facial recognition technology than the Pew survey of all Americans.

Polling of Massachusetts residents shows:

● 66% of Bay Staters say we should not deny law enforcement from using new
technologies, such as facial recognition, to fight crime.

● 64% of Bay Staters agreed facial recognition technology has the potential to make
us safer.

● 46% of Bay Staters said government should not strictly limit the use of facial
recognition technology if it comes at the expense of the public’s safety.

Additionally, that Massachusetts polling found that only 15% of residents want to limit law
enforcement’s use of the technology, even if it comes at the expense of the public’s safety.
The result of polling nationally and in Massachusetts shows that we want to empower law
enforcement to use facial recognition technology. Only 15% of Massachusetts residents
support the moratorium.

Anti-law enforcement activists probably don’t want you to hear that. Instead, they make
outlandish and completely unsubstantiated hypothetical claims that the technology could be
used to track people. They point to how countries like China misuse the technology in violation
of individual rights and say that will happen here, if law enforcement is allowed to use the
technology to help solve crime.

Here’s the thing, this is not China. We are a nation of laws, starting with the U.S. Constitution
and Bill of Rights.

Contrary to what anti-law enforcement activists would have you believe, facial recognition
technology is not about pushing a button and spitting out the name of someone for law
enforcement to arrest. If law enforcement did these things, I would be worried too.
The truth is that facial recognition is just the electronic equivalent of asking victims what the
perpetrator looked like. Except facial recognition removes the problem of faulty recollections and
fatigued witnesses forced to manually examine hundreds, if not thousands, of mugshots.
This technology is a human-centered process in which a face examiner — much like a fingerprint
examiner — examines the possible candidates and provides possible leads to investigators,
based on human analysis. No one is arrested based only on the results generated by facial
recognition technology.

As a parent, and a citizen, I’m glad this technology exists and is being used. Today, somewhere
in Massachusetts, someone’s child may be kidnapped, someone’s wife may be attacked,
someone’s loved one may be murdered or someone may fall victim to another terrible crime.
If it were my child, my wife or my loved one, I’d want law enforcement to have access to a
technology that helps them to generate leads to find the suspect who committed the crime. And
polling shows that a majority of Massachusetts residents feel the same way as I do.

The people of Massachusetts don’t want a moratorium on this tool. Bay Staters want legislators
to do their job. Lawmakers should debate any legislative safeguards that need to be in place
and pass a law enabling law enforcement — your public servants — to use facial recognition
technology to keep your communities safe.

Carl Szabo is vice president and general counsel for NetChoice, an association of eCommerce businesses.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2nKAww7