Facial Recognition brings false arrest
Robert Williams, could be you! He was handcuffed on his front lawn in front of his wife and two terrified girls, ages 2 and 5. Robert was whisked away from his home and family. Locked up some forty minutes away. Robert spent the night in a filthy and cramped cell. In fact, he was incarcerated for some 30 hours!
Couldn't happen to me, right?
Meanwhile, Robert's wife Melissa had to explain to his boss why Robert wouldn't show up to work the next morning. Melissa, with little more than the knowledge that the father of her two daughters had just been arrested for suspicion of stealing watches, then had to make a sensible explanation to her 2 and 5 year girls where dad was and when he would come home.
Why was Robert Williams Arrested
A growing number of police departments are buying into the use of facial recognition hook line and sinker. They are being told by biometric industry pundits that it is fast (saves time and budget), accurate, and usable in a court of law (much like DNA and fingerprints). Eerily some judges are wrapping up their cases and allowing software to decide for them, as well. Never mind the fact that respected biometrics expert, industry insider, and whistle blower Mark Lerner brought to light the flaws and cover ups within the biometric industries a long time ago; he continues doing so even today. Policing agencies and even judges are falling prey to the industry sales pitches at an alarming rate.
Back to Robert. It all began while Robert was leaving work some 20 minutes away from the scene of the crime. At that same moment in time, watches were being stolen from a store 20 minutes away. The State Police received a crime scene video and ran that against State Drivers Licenses and guess who matched up. The judge/prosecutor ignored the fact that he was 20 minutes away at work during the robbery because ... wait for it ... the Facial Recognition computer program matched him positively as the individual who pulled off this caper. In fact, Robert was fully innocent. The Police and Prosecutor ignored the hard evidence that Robert had a rock solid alibi. He was guilty in their eyes because they fully believed in the validity and accuracy of their Facial Recognition computer software.
For this failure to investigate and follow the facts, Robert spent some 30 hours behind bars. He found himself the brunt of false accusations and intimidation to confess.
Prosecutors and Judges relying on these new technologies find it hard to learn that the technology is wrong. They will live with the lie rather than correct their mistake; such an error in their field can spell the doom or bring question to each and every future decision they make. Not wanting to water down their power and authority they will stand behind their reliance on the erroneous evidence since it meets their spin on things.
Police agencies are under immense pressure to solve cases rapidly. What could be better than a one and done solution! Therein lies the problem.
Couldn't happen to you, right?
Robert has been found "not guilty". He is writing a book about the incident. He has written articles about his experience; these have been published.
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