On November 25, a 28-year-old man was arrested in Louisiana for allegedly stealing $10,000 worth of Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags. Police arrested Randall Reid, who lived in Georgia, for a robbery committed in a suburb of New Orleans, three states away.
The defendant, who claims to have never been to Louisiana, was arrested after police used a facial recognition algorithm. Reid was on his way to dinner on Thanksgiving night when police stopped him seven hours away from the scene of the robbery.
The defendant was arrested in Louisiana, three states away from the scene of the robbery.
Face recognition system concept
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A facial recognition tool used by the authorities to find criminals indicated him as a suspect in the theft of luxury bags. The police did not need more information to proceed with his arrest, after which he was locked up for almost a week, according to the New Orleans Advocate.
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Tommy Calogero, Reid’s lawyer, says that the criminal who appears on the security cameras weighs about 20 kilos more than his client. After several days in detention, the authorities admitted a flaw in the facial recognition tool and allowed him to leave prison without charge.
Calogero told the New Orleans Advocate that he believes “they realized they were taking a risk making an arrest based on a face.” These types of tools can be useful but are not accurate enough to be used for criminal recognition.
Technology is more inaccurate in recognizing black people and women
On more than one occasion, technology has proven to be very inaccurate, especially when it comes to identifying black people or women, being more accurate in identifying white men. Some officials have acknowledged that facial recognition should only be used to generate leads but never as the sole basis for an arrest warrant.
Face recognition tool concept
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Reid isn’t the first black man innocently arrested for facial recognition tool bugs. Technology has wrongfully imprisoned at least three people in the United States.
Clare Garvie, a consultant for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, says that the use of facial recognition tools as the only justification for arresting suspects is a worrying and growing trend. The lawyer adds that “when law enforcement officials use technology as the only basis for arrests, they are relying on unproven methods.”
