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Three easy things you can do right now to #BanTheScan:
Email the Mayor and City Council to voice your support for a ban. You can find your representative here.
Facial recognition can be used to largely eliminate any expectation of privacy in public, and in many instances, has the practical effect of forcing every person to walk around with an enlarged copy of their driver’s license on their shirts and carry a government GPS tracking device in their pocket.
Facial recognition systems are built on computer programs that analyze images of human faces for the purpose of identifying them. Unlike many other biometric systems, facial recognition can be used for general surveillance in combination with public video cameras, and it can be used in a passive way that doesn’t require the knowledge, consent, or participation of the subject.
According to Chief Cox, the AAPD does not utilize any facial recognition technology, though it has yet to be known for the City as a whole. The City does have a contract with Axon (formally Taser) for camera equipment that sends all images from police cruisers to Axon's servers for analysis.
Facial Recognition is a Social Justice issue
It is inaccurate
The current technology is significantly more inaccurate in identifying faces of color, of women, of young persons, or older persons, and of transgender/non-binary persons. That translates to these already vulnerable groups being far more likely to be falsely identified and ultimately end up in encounters with the police.
It perpetuates discrimination
Facial recognition technology is disproportionately used to surveille communities of color, leading to higher arrests and incarceration rates in an already too-targeted community.