Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake : NPR


      Accessibility links   	Skip to main content
	Keyboard shortcuts for audio player






    
        	
                
                    Open Navigation Menu
                
            
	
                
                    
                
            
	
	
	
                NPR Shop
            
	


    

    
        
            
                
                    Close Navigation Menu
                
            
            	
                    Home

                
	
                    
                        News
                        Expand/collapse submenu for News
                    


                    	National
	World
	Politics
	Business
	Health
	Science
	Technology
	Race & Culture


                
	
                    
                        Arts & Life
                        Expand/collapse submenu for Arts & Life
                    


                    	Books
	Movies
	Television
	Pop Culture
	Food
	Art & Design 
	Performing Arts


                
	
                    
                        Music
                        Expand/collapse submenu for Music
                    


                    	
    
        Tiny Desk
    

	
    
        All Songs Considered
    

	
    
        Best Music Of 2020
    

	
    
        Music News
    

	
    
        New Music
    

	
    
        Music Features
    

	
    
        Live Sessions
    




                
	
                    
                        Shows & Podcasts
                        Expand/collapse submenu for Shows & Podcasts
                    


                    
                        Daily
                        	
                                
                                    
                                    Morning Edition
                                
                            
	
                                
                                    
                                    Weekend Edition Saturday
                                
                            
	
                                
                                    
                                    Weekend Edition Sunday
                                
                            
	
                                
                                    
                                    All Things Considered
                                
                            
	
                                
                                    
                                    Fresh Air
                                
                            
	
                                
                                    
                                    Up First
                                
                            


                        Featured

                        	
    
        
        Life Kit
    

	
    
        
        Planet Money
    

	
    
        
        How I Built This with Guy Raz
    

	
    
        
        Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
    




                        	More Shows & Podcasts


                    

                
	
                    
                        Search
                    

                
	
	
                    
                        NPR Shop
                    

                


        

    
    
        
            	
                    
                        
                        
                    
                
	
    
        Tiny Desk
    

	
    
        All Songs Considered
    

	
    
        Best Music Of 2020
    

	
    
        Music News
    

	
    
        New Music
    

	
    
        Music Features
    

	
    
        Live Sessions
    



        

    
    
        
            	About NPR
	Overview
	Support
	Careers
	Connect
	Press
	Ethics


        

    


      Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake   The ACLU has filed a complaint against the Detroit Police Department for what the group says is the first documented instance in the U.S. of someone being falsely arrested based on AI.



         
    
        
            
        

        
      Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

   
        
            
                
                    
                    
                        Listen
                        
                            · 
                            3:14
                        
                    
                
            

                
                  3:14
                
        






   
    
        
            
            Toggle more options
        
        	Download
                
	
                    Embed

                    
                        
                        
                            
                            Embed
                            
                        

                        
                            <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/882678392/882678393" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
                        

                    

                
	
                  
                    
                    Transcript
                  
                


    





        
          Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake
          3:14
        
    


   

    
        Law
    




      Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

   
   
   





      
            	Facebook
	Twitter
	Flipboard
	Email


   

   






      
            
    
            June 24, 20205:06 AM ET
    

      
                  Heard on          Morning Edition
      

      

   

   

   
            
                  
                        
                              
    
      
        
      
    


  
    
      Bobby Allyn
    
  


    
      Twitter
    


            

         

         

      

   

   






      
      Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

   
        
            
                
                    
                    
                        Listen
                        
                            · 
                            3:14
                        
                    
                
            

                
                  3:14
                
        






   
    
        
            
            Toggle more options
        
        	Download
                
	
                    Embed

                    
                        
                        
                            
                            Embed
                            
                        

                        
                            <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/882678392/882678393" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
                        

                    

                
	
                  
                    
                    Transcript
                  
                


    







      The ACLU has filed a complaint against the Detroit Police Department for what the group says is the first documented instance in the U.S. of someone being falsely arrested based on AI.




    
        
    

    RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

     Law enforcement's use of facial recognition technology has come under scrutiny in recent months. Now, a man who says he was falsely arrested after a computer algorithm misidentified his face is speaking out. As NPR's Bobby Allyn reports, critics of the technology say the case shows how unreliable the tool is.

    BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Police in Detroit were trying to figure out who stole five watches from a Shinola watch store, and so they pulled security video that had recorded the incident. They zoomed in on the grainy footage and ran the suspect through a facial recognition system. A hit came back - 42-year-old Robert Williams of Michigan.

    ROBERT WILLIAMS: When I look at the picture of the guy, I just see a big Black guy. I don't see a resemblance. I don't think he looks like me at all.

    ALLYN: In January, police in Detroit arrested Williams for the watch theft. Williams says he was placed in an interrogation room, and police put three photos in front of him.

    WILLIAMS: And he says, so I guess that's not you, either. So I picked it up and held it to my face. And I told him, I said, I hope you don't think all Black people look alike.

    ALLYN: Williams was detained and then released on bail until his hearing. That's when prosecutors dropped the charges against him. Academic and government studies have demonstrated that facial recognition systems misidentify people of color more often than white people. What makes this case extraordinary is that police admitted that facial recognition technology prompted the arrest. Typically, the tool is used in secret. Lawyer Phil Mayor is with the ACLU of Michigan.

    PHIL MAYOR: They never even asked him any questions before arresting him. They never asked him if he had an alibi. They never asked him where he was that day.

    ALLYN: The ACLU has filed a complaint against the Detroit Police Department. The complaint asks that police stop using the tool in investigations. In a statement to NPR, the Detroit Police Department says after the Williams case, the department enacted new rules. Now only still photos, not security footage, can be used for facial recognition and only in the case of violent crimes. According to Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology, at least a quarter of the country's law enforcement agencies have access to face recognition tools. Jameson Spivack is a researcher at the center.

    JAMESON SPIVACK: Most of the time people who are arrested using face recognition are not told that face recognition was used to arrest them.

    ALLYN: The government use of facial recognition technology has been banned in half a dozen cities. In Michigan, Williams says he hopes the case is a wake-up call to lawmakers. Williams says there should be a nationwide ban.

    WILLIAMS: Let's say that this case wasn't retail. What if it was rape or murder? Would I had got out of jail on a personal bond? Or would I'd ever come home?

    ALLYN: Williams and his wife, Melissa, worry about the long-term effects the arrest will have on his daughters. He was arrested on his front lawn. His young daughters cried as their father was taken away in a police car.

    MELISSA WILLIAMS: Seeing their dad get arrested, that was their first interaction with the police. So it's definitely going to shape how they perceive law enforcement.

    ALLYN: In his complaint, Williams and his lawyers say, if the police department won't ban the technology outright, then at least his photos should be removed from the database, so this doesn't happen again. Bobby Allyn, NPR News, San Francisco.


    Copyright © 2020 NPR.  All rights reserved.  Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.


    NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.



      	Facebook
	Twitter
	Flipboard
	Email







   




   






    
        
            Read & Listen


            	Home
	News
	Arts & Life
	Music
	Podcasts
	Programs


        


        
            Connect


            	Newsletters
	Facebook
	Twitter
	Instagram
	Contact
	Help


        


        
            About NPR


            	Overview
	Finances
	People
	Press
	Public Editor
	Corrections


        


        
            Get Involved


            	Support Public Radio
	Sponsor NPR
	NPR Careers
	NPR Shop
	NPR Events
	Visit NPR


        

    


    
        	Terms of Use
	Privacy
	Your Privacy Choices
	Text Only
	


    



   

   
            
    

    

    NPR thanks our sponsors
Become an NPR sponsor