Facial recognition technology hailed as a crucial tool in curbing violent crime in the city, saw minimal usage by the New Orleans Police Department between October 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, resulting in no arrests, according to a recent report by City Council consultant AH Datalytics.
During this period, the technology was employed only 13 times, and in just five cases, potential identities were provided. However, disappointingly, two of these matches were deemed inaccurate. The report’s findings emerged approximately a year after the City Council overturned a ban on this controversial surveillance technology. The ban was lifted following the NOPD, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and the NOLA Coalition advocacy.
Despite arguments that using facial recognition tech was pivotal in addressing violent crime, recent data contradicts these claims. Andrew Tuozzolo, the chief of staff to Councilwoman Helena Moreno, expressed this sentiment on Twitter earlier this month.
NOPD officers must fill out a request form to access facial recognition services, facilitated through a partnership with the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange—a state surveillance hub. According to the data provided by the NOPD to the City Council, out of the 15 requests made in those nine months, 14 were intended to identify a Black male, and one was for a Black woman.
Facial Recognition Usage in New Orleans (NOPD) – Overview and Analysis
One of the requests got cancelled as the suspect was already identified through other investigative means. Additionally, another request related to an identity fraud case was denied because it didn’t comply with the NOPD policy, which permits facial recognition usage only in cases involving “crimes of violence” or to locate missing persons.
Out of the remaining 13 instances, facial recognition only provided a match in five cases. However, the report noted that two games were considered inaccurate, leading to potential misidentifications. In one specific case, the NOPD arrested a different individual from the one identified by facial recognition, as it turned out the lead was based on unreliable information, and the identified person was not even in the area during the homicide. The last two cases with matches are still ongoing, and no arrests have been made based on facial recognition data.
Around half of the 15 requests for facial recognition came from specialized units of NOPD that focus on serious crimes, such as the homicide division and the FBI-NOPD task force. The other half of the requests were from officers assigned to the 8th District of NOPD, which covers areas like the French Quarter and the Central Business District. Notably, the request related to the identity fraud case originated from the 4th District, which covers the West Bank.
Public Concerns and Council Opposition
The organization “Eye on Surveillance,” a prominent local anti-surveillance coalition, played a vital role in pushing for the initial ban on facial recognition. It was vehemently opposed to the council’s decision to reverse it. According to the organizers, the report confirms their main argument in favour of the ban, which is that mass crime camera systems, including facial recognition technology, are not very effective and represent a misallocation of public funds that should be directed towards addressing the root causes of crime, such as providing better housing, education, and job opportunities.
An emailed statement from the organization said, “This is a bittersweet moment because although it’s rewarding to witness the validation of what we’ve stated for years about this surveillance technology’s inefficacy, we’re disappointed that neither our coalition nor the people of New Orleans who resoundingly opposed the repeal were believed to begin with.”
Three council members at the time, namely Moreno, JP Morrell, and Leslie Harris, opposed lifting the surveillance ban. They also raised doubts about the necessity of facial recognition and crime cameras to reduce crime.
In an email to Verite, Leslie Harris stated, “As the data continues to show, facial recognition is not one of NOPD’s main crime-fighting tools.”
When asked about the system’s effectiveness, an NOPD spokesperson did not respond directly. Instead, they provided a general statement: “Facial recognition is one of the many tools available to investigators to assist in trying to generate leads in investigations and to identify criminal offenders.” The spokesperson added that any leads or results produced through technology undergo thorough vetting to ensure accuracy and the proper outcomes.
Crime Surge and Reversal of Surveillance Restrictions
New Orleans extensive network of crime cameras originated during former Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s tenure in 2017 and expanded rapidly under Mayor LaToya Cantrell. TheReal-Timee Crime Center, the city’s surveillance hub, now has access to over 1,000 live camera feeds operating 24/7, with half from city-owned cameras and the other half from private residents and businesses who grant the city access to their camera feeds. First, civil rights and privacy advocates raised concerns, which only intensified when it became evident that the city was augmenting its camera network with potent, military-grade software capable of instantly searching footage for specific individuals, vehicles, and more.
Critics objected to the technology due to the immense power it would grant the police and the criminal justice system. Moreover, they highlighted the well-documented biases and inaccuracies of facial recognition technology. Studies, including one by a federal agency, revealed that facial recognition is notably less reliable at identifying non-white individuals, leading to more false matches and, in some cases, wrongful arrests.
An incident involving the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office last year exemplified the risks, where facial recognition misidentified a suspect, resulting in the false arrest of an innocent man in Georgia.
In November 2020, The Lens exposed the city’s use of facial recognition technology, which had been denied for years and was allegedly conducted without the knowledge of the NOPD superintendent. In response to this revelation, in December 2020, the city council passed a new law limiting surveillance capabilities and banning facial recognition and predictive policing software.
However, public support for these surveillance restrictions waned among elected officials as New Orleans faced a surge in violent crime, and the police force reached its lowest numbers in decades.
