Discussion: Technology and Rights, Perception, and Safety

Discussion: Technology and Rights, Perception and Rights, Perception and Safety

In this Discussion, you choose a new technology and discuss how its long-term use

may be affected by rights, perception, and safety.

To prepare:

 Choose a new technology affecting law enforcement practice.

 You may use the technology you’ve chosen for this week’s Assignment.

 Identify a new technology affecting law enforcement practice.

 How do the issues of constitutional rights, public perception, and public safety?

contribute to the long-term viability of a new technology?

Week Five Discussion: Technology and Rights, Perception, and Safety

Hello Everyone,

The technology I am going to discuss is one I used in our week two assignment. It is a

technology that has many constitutional rights issues but at the same time can revolutionize

how police catch criminals in ways we have never been able to do before. According to the

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), face recognition is the process of recognizing or verifying

an individual's identity by looking at their face. Facial recognition software can recognize

individuals in pictures, videos, or in real-time. During police stops, officers can also use mobile

devices to identify individuals (EFF, 2017).

How Facial Recognition Can Affect Our Constitutional Rights

Currently, there are no federal laws when it comes to the use of facial recognition in law

enforcement. For me, it is hard to determine if this technology infringes on our civil rights.

Although, many disagree and have concerns about whether it violates the First, Fourth, and 14th

Amendments. Things like being able to practice your religion and peacefully protest can be used

against you when technology can pick your face out of a crowd. Right or wrong people are

biased, and one could lose their job or just cause problems for people in general. Such as our

right to privacy being violated.

Can police use this technology as a form of probable cause? allowing someone’s personal space to be searched and seized all because your face matched that of someone who just committed a crime.

Does law enforcement still need that search warrant, or does that just go out the window?

The Public’s Perception of Facial Recognition and the Future of its Use

A survey done by the Security Industry Association found that more than half of people support the use

of this software for law enforcement. 68 percent believed it will make society safer and 66 percent say

that it is rightful and well-suited for use in law enforcement. (SIA, 2020). A major problem with this use of

technology through the eyes of the public is the unfair issues they are having with its inability to

distinguish correct algorithms for African American faces (Simonite, 2019). If this computer program

misidentifies them, then where is their equal protection under the law when being falsely accused of a crime, they did not commit?

If the problems with this computer program's ability to differentiate between

minorities' faces are not addressed, this technology's future will do more harm than good.

Facial Recognitions Long-Term Effects for Public Safety

The benefits of the use of this technology are limitless when it comes to the safety of the

public. Before this software eye-witness testimony, drawings, photos, and videos were as close

as an officer could get to identifying someone (Face First, 2021). This was time-consuming and

not nearly as accurate. Now, if your child is missing, there will be cameras all over the

community that can pick their face out of a crowd.

If someone just high-jacked your car they could be caught a few lights up the road. Real-time facial recognition can assist officers in

dealing with any situation they can encounter. Reduce the number of cases of mistaken identity

on the streets and first responders will be able to identify a face from a large group of people

with extensive accuracy and in a portion of the time. It is also a good crime preventive tool to

use, someone will be less likely to commit a crime in the first place if their chances of being

caught are greater.