“Dozens of law-enforcement agencies from Massachusetts to Arizona are preparing to outfit their forces with controversial hand-held facial-recognition devices as soon as September, raising significant questions about privacy and civil liberties,” Emily Steel and Julia Angwin report for The Wall Street Journal.
“With the device, which attaches to an iPhone, an officer can snap a picture of a face from up to five feet away, or scan a person’s irises from up to six inches away, and do an immediate search to see if there is a match with a database of people with criminal records,” Steel and Angwin report. “The gadget also collects fingerprints. Until recently, this type of portable technology has mostly been limited to military uses, for instance to identify possible insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan.”
“The rollout has raised concerns among some privacy advocates about the potential for misuse,” Steel and Angwin report. “A fundamental question is whether or not using the device in certain ways would constitute a “search” that requires a warrant. Courts haven’t decided the issue.”
“BI2 says it has agreements with about 40 agencies to deliver roughly 1,000 of the devices, which cost $3,000 apiece. Some law-enforcement officials believe the new gear could be an important weapon against crime,” Steel and Angwin report. “‘We are living in an age where a lot of people try to live under the radar and in the shadows and avoid law enforcement,’ says Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Ariz. He is equipping 75 deputies under his command with the device in the fall.”
Steel and Angwin report, “Mr. Babeu says his deputies will start using the gadget try to identify people they stop who aren’t carrying other identification. (In Arizona, police can arrest people not carrying valid photo ID.) Mr. Babeu says it also will be used to verify the identity of people arrested for a crime, potentially exposing the use of fake IDs and quickly determining a person’s criminal history.”
“BI2’s device attaches to the back of an iPhone, adding about 1.75 inches to its width. It plans to offer a version for Android phones in the future. The company says Moris will be sold only to law-enforcement agencies, although it is considering building applications for the health-care and financial industries,” Steel and Angwin report. “The device links to a database of criminal records, iris and face images contributed by local law enforcement that use other BI2 technologies.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Attribution: Electronista. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
If you’re not doing anything wrong or have nothing to hide quit worrying. It should help with the illegal alien problem especially in Arizona. Go for it!
Disagree… We all know how the corrupted officials are misusing these technologies… It does raise a civil right question and a big brother concern…
What? Have you been to Arizona? California? Do you really compare illegal ailiens and the violence and crime they bring to America with some corrupt law enforcement officials somewhere that you have not named??? Geez buddy get into the real world. Get out of mom’s basement and visit Arizona. Your ass would pucker if you even got close to real crime. Grow up!
@GM
Get rid of the tin foil hat and turn off fox news chump, I live in Arizona and you are a alarmist idiot that needs to get out more and not point fingers at a legit concern, realize the misuses this can have due to our untrianed and overzelous officials
And yes, being trained as a official, I have seen some real flunkies come out of the woodwork that have held commissions and lost them by taking the exact same stance as you.
Yes we have a problem, but this is not the Answer, anyone and everyone will be put in this database and technology has a funny way of messing up when a persons life and freedoms are at stake.
And we are taliking about American legals being placed in a database and allowing a technology to make the decision on who can and will be held by the law enforcement Community.
No, this is wrong, and will be challenged in the courts soon enough, just like all the other things our state has tried to do and has failed.
Being reactive is not an answer, “1984” in 2011 Orwell was correct, just the years have been changed.
” Trained as a official”. Official what? Name calling is hardly a way to act as “a official”. Chump! I have lived in Arizona 25 of the last 30 years so don’t lecture me. The only thing you are is a official phony. Idiot!
@GM FYI I moved out of my mom’s basement at 22 and now I’m 32 so I might have seen few things!
I’m not saying that illegal aliens and criminals shouldn’t be stopped. I’m saying it’s not right for every weirdo corrupted Government to have a database of every human’s locations, habits etc. If you’re ok with it, then fine, have an official watching you as you’re getting laid too! Nothing to be afraid right? I would NEVER change freedom for safety! Oh and it would be good for your brain to stop watching TV and Faux News, they’re getting in to you bro… With all these tech advancements Big Brother type of population control is very easy and given the fact that power corrupts, imagine what such power can do in the hands of corrupted officials and if you think these things are conspiracy theories, think of GOOGLE! That’s all I have to say to you…
@iHarry and @Scott, quit being MSNBC, CNN, and New York Times lefty apologists, just because you do not like Fox News!
So concerned about Big Brother, when it was a lefty station, CBS, that creates a show called Big Brother for your entertainment! It’s the lefts way to condition you.
And you don’t think there are “LIsts” already compiled by government officials… You poor, poor misguided fools.
Corrupted officials could care less about your face unless money were involved to make it worth their while… And a lot of money at that!
And when was the last time someone took a photo of your face LESS than five feet away and you did not know about it?!
Either being Brain Dead or Unconscious is the only reasons I can think of that you would not be cognizant of such facial photo taking by the authorities… and you don’t appear to be unconscious!
CBS as a “lefty” network? Big Brother as brainwashing?
Hilarious! But not rational, or even semi-sane.
Seriously, if you are not on meds, you SHOULD be.
… you need to broaden your information channel – like, more than Fox News. While it is “true” that all “illegal aliens” in this country are “criminals”, the only crime the vast majority of them have committed is crossing the border without the proper paperwork. Your own demographic is at least twice has likely to have committed some other crime as they have. So, pull yourself away from the lying (as per Canadian broadcasting rules) bigots on Fox and check out the FACTS. Just because it “feels true” does not mean it bears any resemblance, beyond that, to the truth.
I think all so-called illegals should be given amnesty and while we’re at it, they should be given GM’s house, car and job to apologize for his kind being such fantastic ass-munchers all these years. I have never met a migrant even half as just plain inhospitable and rude as these idiots who blame everything they don’t like on the “new guy” when really their only problem is that they dislike having grown up, gotten responsibilities and miss their mummies and their idyllic childhoods when everything was provided for them. Grow up yourself, and that means take responsibility for your own life not blaming the browner, weaker people around you for your insecurities and inadequacies.
You should take your own advice, and broaden your information channel… There are many people in this country that came here legally from Europe, Asia, and even Latin America, and to think that we live in a society that would criminalise a persons decision to stay beyond a visa…
In a melting pot that is the USA, xenophobia should be illegal…
Get over it, love life and stop hating the lives of others, you just might be happier in the long run…
Amen. I don’t care who comes in. As long as it’s legal. It’s the people like Fredo who have no idea what they are talking about that is ruining this country. You want in ? Fine. Apply and wait your turn. What part of illegal doesn’t Fredo understand? Because I want some money can I rob a bank? Or Fredo? No it’s illegal. A simple concept to understand unless you are stupid.
Anything can be misused. Should we abolish the hammer because it was used by the Romans to nail Jesus to the cross? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of corrupt officials rather than take away the tools to catch them? You don’t make any sense.
I agree. They should also be able to check our bank accounts, if we have nothing to hide then why not. While we are at it lets all wear tracking devices that log our locations and report to a central database every 60 seconds, nothing to hide so why not. Lets make it a requirement that DNA is collected from everyone, nothing to hide right.
If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about. Every police officer has a uniform and a badge. What more proof do you need that someone can be trusted with your freedom and life?
In fact, they should take it one step further: outfit all citizens with explosive collars, and outfit all police officers remote detonators. If what you tell a police officer doesn’t match what’s in the database, they should have the option to remove you from society with a push of a button. I know I would feel safer.
1!
+1
When people use the ‘if you’re not doing anything wrong’ justification for this it makes me want to get all stabby. People like you are accomplices in the implementation of a police state in the US.
A government that does not fear its people is a government ready to abuse its power. Someday when what you perceive as ‘doing nothing wrong’ is suddenly considered wrong, you’ll wish you would have thought differently about this issue.
1
The US has been steadily creeping toward a police state since about the time of the “war on drugs” and it intensified after 2001. The US is easily the most violent of the developed nations despite having the highest incarceration rate, the highest gun ownership, etc. It obviously does not work.
If you want to reduce crime we could start by going to community policing, decriminalizing marijuana and concentrating upon violent crime. Getting cops out of the patrol car and requiring them to live in or near where they work is a well proven policy.
About the same time 40 million brown people ran/swam into the country…coincidence? But, we don’t need million dollar tech to identify them.
Just sayin’…
If the indigenous tribes had dealt with illegal immigration back in the day there would be few Anglos in Az to bitch about migrants.
They tried, to little success.
I want to be accurately identified by the police because it is their errors that are most harmful to us all. The US population is generally law abiding but paranoid. Just look at all the posts here about their fears.
The criminals need to be caught and the illegal aliens need to be made legal. Let go of your paranoia and bigotry.
You’re “not doing anything illegal”… that is until some corrupt administration gets laws passed that make you an illegal. I agree with iHarry. Too much potential abuse. @GM – what if you are a legal resident but don’t want to be “pre-scanned” into the db?
I would love to see that in place for the 2012 vote all across the USA. We would clean up the voter scams and get a real count. Not a manipulated one!
Of course! If you move all voter verification into a computer system, then election fraud will be impossible. I mean, who has ever even heard of a computer system being hacked or manipulated for an illicit purpose? We will finally be able to rest knowing that democracy is guaranteed forever! Brilliant!
You mean all those voter scams being run by Republicans? How will this stop those? http://www.wisn.com/r/28525033/detail.html
Why do I get the feeling that a $3 app could do just as well.
I think as long as it’s not invasive, they can’t stop it. They aren’t asking for a blood sample, or a fingerprint, or a mouth swab.
“They aren’t asking for … a fingerprint…” Oh yes they are! Look at the video.
That’s what I was wondering as well. What functionality does this extra box actually add?
Remember the movie “Minority Report”? The computers watched and tracked you everywhere you went. Even the advertisement signs knew who you were and changed to address your preferences.
@iHarry and @Scott, quit being MSNBC, CNN, and New York Times lefty apologists, just because you do not like Fox News!
So concerned about Big Brother, when it was a lefty station, CBS, that creates a show called Big Brother for your entertainment! It’s the lefts way to condition you.
And you don’t think there are “LIsts” already compiled by government officials… You poor, poor misguided fools.
Corrupted officials could care less about your face unless money were involved to make it worth their while… And a lot of money at that!
And when was the last time someone took a photo of your face LESS than five feet away and you did not know about it?!
Either being Brain Dead or Unconscious is the only reasons I can think of that you would not be cognizant of such facial photo taking by the authorities… and you don’t appear to be unconscious!
Ugh linked reply to wrong post, sorry!
Fire up the torches and let us all head over to Apple and Google before “skynet” becomes the true reality!
yeah, the police need even more power. get real, this blows chunks.
You get stopped for some reason. You have no id. The officer is allowed to remember your face as being a known criminal. OK – no-one has a problem with the officer’s memory. Or how about going back to the patrol car and look through ten thousand photos to see if you might be a known or wanted criminal. Silly, but allowable. Or — what’s the REAL difference? — to use an app to see if you match a photo in the police database. The action does not amount to more than having a technical augment to an allowable action – remembering your face.
So, how is this different then having an officer with a photographic memory? Does a police officer have to see you commit a crime before they arrest you? I understand the Big Brother fears but I just see a big leap between this and being tracked everywhere I go. If it were to be installed in a public place and monitored elsewhere we start to change the situation.
it will be.
Big Brother has been delayed, but slowly inches forward day by day.
You don’t need a warrant to see what is in the open.
If you’re hiding from the law, stay inside.
Better yet, don’t break the law in the first place.
If you are hiding from the law, and you go outside, you are taking the risk that someone may see you, and recognize you.
Consider this as just another set of eyes… A really great set of eyes.
I don’t like the idea of this one bit.
Where does it end and what is next if this is ‘accepted’ ?
We already have a ton of cameras all over watching everything.
You have to essentially show your ID to any law enforcement officer upon request.
I just do not believe that a facial recognition system is needed let alone something we should just accept.
As for the thought that “If you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about” I cannot get behind that attitude. I think that if you have done nothing wrong then why should the authorities assume you are a criminal just waiting to be found?
This just moves us closer to losing basic rights and freedoms imho
This is a Mac group where everyone has iPhoto with facial recognition built in right there on their desktop?
My favorite LEO tactic is to use the high speed license plate readers. They catch a ton of wanted that way with little interaction on the part of the patrol officer, it is all automatic.
Second how many of you realize they can track you on the Intestates with pole mounted traffic cameras, yes you, not your car? Facial recognition at work right thru the windshield.
The same at any high security event where cameras silently scan the crowd looking for known terrorists and criminals.
I know that it could be abused if I was a member of some anti government group but for the most part I am happy when HSA can neutralize threats without making a lot of noise to keep us safe from wannabe terrorists.
Why is it when someone speaks out against the liberal machine, right away its stated, ” stop watching Fox News?”. Every news station and the majority of newspapers are liberal. The one station that’s not gets bashed. Are you people that afraid of Fox News?
Ps. It’s the liberals that want to control every aspect of our lives. Remember your hero Mr Gore? He and his wife tells us what we can and cannot listen to. They want to control everything you watch, listen to and do. Hey, what about taking some responsiblity and something called parenting.
Well, let’s see — I might support this IF I could have an app that scans the officer’s iris and displays his record, anything alarming on his/her record, etc., or even if they really are a real officer of the law.