HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 06-15 Facial recognition technology comes out of the shadows STAR TRIBUNE6/17/2016
Hennepin County Sheriffs Office acknowledges using facial recognition software- StarTribune.com
WEST METRO
Facial recognition technology comes out
of the shadows
By David Chanen (http://www.startribune.com/david-chanen/10644586/) Star Tribune
JUNE 14, 2016 — 10:30PM
A crime -fighting tool until now kept under wraps by the Hennepin County Sheriffs
Office is drawing both praise as a critical asset in the hunt for bad guys, but also concern
in an era of growing surveillance.
The Sheriffs Office is the only law enforcement agency in the state to offer facial
recognition technology, once the domain of the military and top national intelligence
investigators. The software now generates leads on drug dealers, bank robbers, burglars
and other conventional criminal suspects.
Known formally as Image Identification Technology, it works by identifying thousands
of points on a person's face to determine such things as the distance between the eyes or
the shape of the lips. It takes about 30 minutes to find a possible match.
While the Sheriffs Office began using the software in August 2013, its use came to the
forefront last week following lengthy efforts in court by Tony Webster, a self-employed
software engineer who lives in Minneapolis, to compel the Sheriffs Office to release its
e-mail communication about the technology. Abiding by the court order, the Sheriffs
Office provided Webster access to the e-mails.
"I was surprised to learn they had been using the technology for three years and there
was no public disclosure about it," Webster said. "I don't think Minnesotans would be
against the technology, but it's going to be a big issue to watch."
On the day Webster published a blog post detailing what he discovered, the Sheriffs
Office hosted a Facebook statement
(https://www.facebook.com/hennepinsheriff/posts/10154300491987783:0) defending
facial recognition technology and "dispelling myths," Hennepin County Sheriff Rich
Stanek said. The post explained how the software was used to identify Anthony M.
Rechichi, who is a suspect in the May 20 robbery of Hiway Credit Union in Minneapolis
and a person of interest in another bank robbery. Rechichi turned himself in last week
and was charged with aggravated robbery. The Sheriffs Office kept word of the software
quiet to stay a step ahead of criminals, Stanek said.
"Ours is a law enforcement agency; we make no apology for our mission to solve crime,
or to prioritize violent crime," the Sheriffs Office post read. "And as we conduct our
mandated responsibilities, we respect our laws, including data practice laws, and we
respect and protect the privacy rights of all residents."
With any new surveillance advancements, critics are quick to point out the potential for
abuse. Stanek said his office developed a policy and training program to guarantee the
software's public safety goal isn't at the expense of civil liberties, he said.
"We attempt to match unknown criminal suspects to a database of public Hennepin
County booking photos, which are public information," he said. "In the Sheriffs Office,
we do not gather or retain photos real-time from cameras in the community."
The Sheriffs Office received more than 80 requests for assistance with facial recognition
from other law enforcement agencies this year. Nearly half resulted in an identification,
arrest or conviction, Stanek said.
Despite recognition rates of 99.7 percent for well -lit, frontal photos, security cameras
often don't produce quality images, requiring extra legwork.
"The software is a cool thing, but it's not like you see on TV," he said. "It doesn't take
away the human factor in solving crimes."
The next privacy debate
Facial recognition technology was first developed in the 1960s, but only recently became
accurate enough for widespread use — and it has created business in Minnesota. In 2010,
Maplewood -based 3M Co. paid nearly $1 billion for the California company Cogent,
(http://stmedia. start ri bune. com/i mages/ 1465917121 _08+2.23541
HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE,
Facial recognition technology compares
surveillance camera footage to booking photos
to make a match. James W. Russell was...
(http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1465917121 0
James W. Russell was identified as a suspect
and convicted of felony theft of security
cameras thanks to facial recognition technology.
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6/17/2016 Hennepin County Sheriffs Office acknowledges using facial recognition software- StarTribune.com
which develops a variety of identification systems, including iris and facial recognition
technology. Another company, MorphoTrust USA, has a biometric facility in
Bloomington.
The Sheriffs Office paid nearly $140,000 for its software, which was paid for by a
federal grant for biometrics approved by the County Board. The office must file a
quarterly report on its use, Stanek said.
The Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and the state's Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension don't use the software. The FBI declined to comment.
Spokesmen for the Hennepin and Ramsey County attorney's offices said they couldn't
recall if they received cases that included facial recognition evidence. The U.S. attorney's
office for the District of Minnesota said it wasn't aware of any time the technology was
used as trial evidence.
Rechichi's case appears to be one of the few involving facial recognition that has been
presented to the Hennepin County attorney's office for prosecution. Because it's a
relatively new tool, County Attorney Mike Freeman said there could be legal challenges
of its use in trial.
"Defense attorneys tried to discredit the use of DNA evidence for years, but science
validated it," Freeman said. "Attorneys may fight how the facial image was obtained for
recognition, but we have no problem putting that through the paces."
According to the Sheriffs Office policy on the use of facial recognition software, it will
be used only to provide leads on a person believed to be involved in criminal activity
and not as a substitute for positive identification. Stanek said his office has no intention
to use `real-time automatic facial recognition to create a database of everywhere you
go."
The executive directors from the state's County Attorney and Chiefs of Police
associations haven't had discussions about facial recognition technology, but plan to
address the issues in the future. It's the latest crime -fighting technology to stir debate at
the Capitol over privacy concerns — following automatic license plate readers, cellphone
tracking devices and body cameras — but such technology has been on the national
radar for several years. In July 2012, a hearing was held by a U.S. Senate committee to
address issues surrounding what facial recognition technology means for privacy and
civil liberties.
Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota, said facial recognition
software is another example of an "over -surveilled" culture.
"We have the right to be left alone in society," he said. "If the only thing they have to
compare images to was mug shots, my argument would be weak. There's driver's license
photos and images on Facebook."
Brooklyn Center police detective Terry Olson understands why people might raise red
flags regarding privacy or civil liberty issues, but he doesn't expect any widespread abuse
of the technology. His department used it to catch a man who stole several security
cameras and was wanted for a string of auto thefts in Hennepin County.
"The mug shots that are used to compare images are public. And people can't expect a
right of privacy if they are videotaped by a camera in a public space," he said. "The
technology is no magic bullet for identification, but it can certainly point you in the
right direction."
dchanen@startribune.com 612-673-4465
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