New Orleans Mayor OKs Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology
Many jurisdictions have banned the technology, but it may be enjoying a comeback because of the crime surge. In New Orleans, the software has raised privacy concerns for years from the New Orleans Council, the ACLU, and other nonprofit groups.
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Calling it a “tremendous stride towards public safety,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has signed a controversial ordinance allowing the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to utilize facial recognition to combat crime across the city, reports WDSU News.
The NOPD will now be able to use the software in investigations with some oversight, with only certain NOPD officers being allowed to use the technology.
“The return of NOPD’s use of facial recognition technology represents a tremendous stride towards greater public safety,” the mayor said in a statement.
“I am grateful that the women and men of the NOPD now have this valuable, force multiplying tool that will help take dangerous criminals off our streets.”
The facial recognition software is used in tandem with the Real Time Crime Center, which is a network of over 500 cameras across the city.
The software has been the center of privacy concerns for years from the New Orleans Council, the ACLU, and other nonprofit groups.
The move is in contrast to decisions in many jurisdictions to ban or curtail its use. From 2019 through 2021, about two dozen U.S. state or local governments passed laws restricting facial recognition.
Nevertheless, the recent surge in violent crime appears to be reviving efforts to use the technology.
Additional Reading: The Media and Facial Recognition Technology, by Claire Garvie
