A man wrongfully arrested by Detroit police due to facial recognition technology has recently settled a lawsuit with the Detroit Police Department for $300,000. In 2018, Robert Williams was falsely arrested as the perpetrator of a theft after Detroit police solely relied on the technology to make the accusation, which, in Williams’ words, “completely upended” his and his family’s life. Luckily, the settled lawsuit was coupled with revised policies to rein in Detroit police’s use of facial recognition technology and ensure that the tool is not used on its own as a means to detain residents. Williams shared the profound impact the arrest had on him and his family:
“My wife and young daughters had to watch helplessly as I was arrested for a crime I didn’t commit and by the time I got home from jail, I had already missed my youngest losing her first tooth and my eldest couldn’t even bear to look at my picture. Even now, years later, it still brings them to tears when they think about it.”
So far, the bulk of wrongful arrests caused by police use of facial recognition technology have resulted in the arrests of Black residents. This highlights the ways in which even technology, which is often touted as an objective tool, can easily perpetuate inaccurate and biased outcomes. In the instance of wrongful arrests, the trauma suffered by the victims and their family can persist.
This is a good time to understand the ways that the technology used in your business may not be as objective and harmless as you may think, and instead may result in biased outcomes that impact marginalized communities and expose you to more legal risk. To start, learn about how to begin conducting a civil rights audit by visiting our checklist on racial equity and civil rights audits, which is based on an awesome workshop with leaders and pioneers in the civil rights audits arena.
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