Wales Police Begin Using a Facial-Recognition Phone App (bbc.co.uk) 15
"There are concerns human rights will be breached," reports the BBC, as Wales police forces launch a facial-recognition app that "will allow officers to use their phones to confirm someone's identity."
The app, known as Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR), has already been tested by 70 officers across south Wales and will be used by South Wales Police and Gwent Police. Police said its use on unconscious or dead people would help officers to identify them promptly so their family can be reached with care and compassion. In cases where someone is wanted for a criminal offence, the forces said it would secure their quick arrest and detention. Police also said cases of mistaken identity would be easily resolved without the need to visit a police station or custody suite.
Police said photos taken using the app would not be retained, and those taken in private places such as houses, schools, medical facilities and places of worship would only be used in situations relating to a risk of significant harm.
Liberty, a civil liberties group, is urging new privacy protections from the government, according to the article, which also includes this quote from Jake Hurfurt, of the civil liberties/privacy group Big Brother Watch. "In Britain, none of us has to identify ourselves to police without very good reason but this unregulated surveillance tech threatens to take that fundamental right away."
Police said photos taken using the app would not be retained, and those taken in private places such as houses, schools, medical facilities and places of worship would only be used in situations relating to a risk of significant harm.
Liberty, a civil liberties group, is urging new privacy protections from the government, according to the article, which also includes this quote from Jake Hurfurt, of the civil liberties/privacy group Big Brother Watch. "In Britain, none of us has to identify ourselves to police without very good reason but this unregulated surveillance tech threatens to take that fundamental right away."
Yeah right (Score:3)
The same youth who are quite happy putting endless pictures of themselves and their friends and everything they do in life online to be slurped up and digested by all the social media companies in order to become part of the product and have their face recognised anywhere in the world by facial recognition systems? Is that the youth you're talking about?
Re: (Score:2)
Even if that was true (and you will find they are a lot more savvy these days), there is clearly a big difference in consequences here.
If some copper's dodgy phone camera doesn't cope with your skin tone, it's a potentially huge problem.
Re: (Score:2)
Unwoke: Somebody who doesn't understand that society's accommodation for mental illness requires understanding that society cannot actually force the mentally ill to go to a therapist without locking them away and forcing them to listen to a therapist because they are a fuckwit who thinks that only the mentally ill would get locked away, not their brother whom no one likes.
Re: (Score:2)
How does it handle errors? (Score:2)
Police also said cases of mistaken identity would be easily resolved without the need to visit a police station or custody suite.
How? If the app identifies you as someone they need to arrest for some crime and you do not have any ID on you then it is hard to imagine that the police are not going to take you to the station until the problem gets resolved because otherwise every real criminal is just going to claim that the system has misidentified them.
That's the problem with systems like these. For them to be useful the police have to trust what it is telling them and when the system makes a mistake you have then automatically lo
Re: (Score:2)
Pepperidge farm remembers.
This is like with fingerprints and DNA. Its never as accurate as they make it out in court. But since it doesnt disrupt everyone it doesnt stir up problems for them.
Re: (Score:2)
You have identified the same bad claim I have. And this one statement makes me question the motive of the whole damn thing, because you are absolutely correct. No one will avoid a trip to the station if The System says you’re a wanted felon. And The System will be deemed never wrong eventually.
Even when the system is wrong, the major problem is affording to defend yourself. Most average citizens can’t, but they’ll certainly be forced to. Is fear and profit the real motive here?
The question is (Score:2)
Where are they getting the images to compare against? If only from the police criminal DB then thats not going to be much use for identifying A.N Other person who's been in a fatal accident or similar. If they're getting the images from social media then that opens up a hole can of worms and will simply mean that any criminal with brains (yeah, a bit of an ask) will simply not use social media , at least to post pictures of themselves anyway.
Re: (Score:2)
Chinese facial recognition systems are used in airports all over the world. And they've been scraping social media accounts for a LONG time. And maybe, Chinese definitions of "criminal" aren't exactly the same as Western countries.....although it does seem they have started to merge in the past several years.
Prove your Motive. (Score:2)
Police also said cases of mistaken identity would be easily resolved without the need to visit a police station or custody suite.
If the police cannot do this today, the hell makes anyone assume they can do this when The System (facial false-recognition) blatantly informs them a (mistaken) criminal is in front of them?
If The System thinks you’re Fucky McFuckface the Felon, you are going to get arrested. You will be taken to a police station. And you will be forced to spend a lot of money (now we’re getting somewhere as to motive) defending a false accusation. Just as anyone would today.
Only difference tomorrow is The Sy
Copying the Chinese? (Score:2)
Chinese police on the streets of Beijing were using this tech 6 years ago.
Cheap Click (Score:2)
Wales (Score:2)
Wasn't TORCHWOOD (based in Cardiff) doing this already?