{"id":90960,"date":"2024-02-12T16:00:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T21:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=90960"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:03","slug":"technology-in-policing-regulated-protect-people","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/technology-in-policing-regulated-protect-people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Use of Technology in Policing Should Be Regulated To Protect People From Wrongful Convictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n\n
<\/div>\n \n
\n
\n\n

\n The Use of Technology in Policing Should Be Regulated To Protect People From Wrongful Convictions\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

This article is republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanna Pozzulo<\/a> is a Chancellor\u2019s professor of psychology at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proliferation of technology for everyday living can be seen through ChatGPT writing term papers<\/a> or robots serving meals at a restaurant<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology can also be used towards less utilitarian ends. Unfortunately, deepfakes \u2014 digitally altered images of people \u2014 can be used to spread misinformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new edited volume, which I co-edited, considers the use of everyday technologies in the criminal justice system, ranging from detecting deception to web sleuthing to help law enforcement solve crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology in policing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consider the use of body-worn cameras by police, as in the fatal shooting of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Greg Pierzchala in December 2022. Footage from his body camera will provide evidence during the trial of his accused killers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police investigations have also been aided by private citizen sleuths via technology, who gather evidence to help police identify criminals. This was the case with convicted murderer Luka Magnotta<\/a>, where an online network identified him in cat torture videos<\/a> and provided the information to law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another use of technology can be for public surveillance for crime prevention through the application of facial recognition software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security cameras are now a ubiquitous feature in public places. In 2021, it was estimated that one billion security cameras were being used around the world<\/a>. China is listed as having about 54 per cent of all surveillance cameras<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Toronto had approximately 2,000 cameras at city-owned facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security cameras may or may not be used in conjunction with facial recognition software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding faces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Facial recognition uses software to identify or confirm someone\u2019s identity using an image of their face. Captured faces are compared to a database, often for the purposes of crime prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some retailers have used facial recognition to help reduce theft. In 2022, Josh Soika, an Indigenous man, was confronted by a security guard due to being \u201cflagged\u201d as having stolen previously from the store<\/a>. Later, it was determined that Soika was misidentified by the artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a> used by Canadian Tire for facial recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Canadian Tire Corporation and its dealers have since agreed to no longer use facial recognition technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned the pharmacy chain Rite Aid for five years from using facial recognition software to identify customers who have stolen merchandise or displayed other problematic behaviours<\/a>. In some instances, Rite Aid workers would follow \u201cidentified\u201d customers around, accuse them of stealing and call police. People of colour were falsely identified at a greater rate than white customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that someone who has shoplifted in the past isn\u2019t necessarily planning to shoplift again<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of facial recognition software in Canada is controversial. In 2021, it was reported that Toronto police used Clearview AI, a facial recognition software, in 84 investigations, with at least two cases proceeding to prosecution<\/a>. Once it was discovered by the police chief however, the practice was stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discrimination and AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Accuracy rates with facial recognition software are above 90 per cent<\/a>, but that number is greatly reduced within certain demographics<\/a>. Facial recognition software is documented to misidentify women, racialized people and those between the ages of 18-30 years, with accuracy reduced to 35 per cent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2023, Porcha Woodruff, a 32-year-old pregnant Black woman from Detroit, was arrested for robbery and carjacking based on a facial recognition match. Police used AI that had run an image of a carjacker caught on video through a mugshot database that contained Woodruff\u2019s photo, and incorrectly matched it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodruff was jailed for 11 hours and went into labour<\/a>. The charges were dropped, and Woodruff is currently suing the city of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n