The city of Detroit has agreed to pay $300,000 to Robert Williams, a man who was wrongly accused of shoplifting, as part of a lawsuit settlement. In addition, the city will change how its police department uses facial recognition technology to solve crimes. This agreement was announced by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Michigan law school.
Robert Williams’ driver’s license photo was mistakenly flagged as a likely match to a man seen on security video at a Shinola watch store in 2018. Under the new conditions, Detroit police are prohibited from arresting individuals based solely on facial recognition results or from making arrests based on photo lineups generated from a facial recognition search. Instead, they are required to use traditional police methods to verify the identification made through facial recognition.
The settlement with Williams also involves the review of cases from 2017 to 2023 in which facial recognition technology was used by the Detroit police department. If it is found that an arrest was made without independent evidence, a prosecutor will be informed. This is to ensure that individuals are not pressured into pleading guilty based solely on facial recognition results and lineup outcomes.
Last August, Chief James White of the Detroit police department announced new policies regarding the use of facial recognition technology after a pregnant woman was wrongly charged with carjacking. White emphasized the importance of having additional evidence to support a suspect’s involvement in a crime outside of the technology’s results. The ACLU lawyers involved in this case see this settlement as an important step towards ensuring a fair justice system for individuals like Williams who may face undue pressure due to their criminal record.
The ACLU argues that facial recognition technology is flawed and racially biased and that it should not be used as evidence against suspects without independent verification.
Williams expressed hope that these changes will lead to a better world for everyone.
This settlement is an important step towards ensuring that individuals are not wrongfully accused or convicted based solely on faulty technology or biased algorithms.
The city officials and law enforcement agencies must continue working towards improving their practices and policies related to this technology so that it can be used fairly and effectively without any harm caused to innocent people.