'Facewatch' Security Cams Give Store Owners a Taste of What It's Like to Be Big Brother

[steven36]

Facial recognition technology in the United Kingdom alerts shopkeepers when a former criminal or other "subjects of interest" enter the store.

 

Facewatch is a surveillance video sharing program used by about 10,000 business in the United Kingdom. The system allows store owners to share closed-circuit television (CCTV) videos of criminals, create a database of "subjects of interest," and quickly file reports with the police electronically. If a liquor store owner is robbed at gunpoint, for example, he can alert the police and other shop owners with images of the suspect just minutes after the crime, increasing the likelihood that the thief is caught. 

But the system was recently updated in an attempt to stop crime before it happens with new technology that can detect the faces of "subjects of interest" and alert the store owner as soon as they walk in the front doors. Simply asking a potential shoplifter if they need assistance has been shown to deter theft, and in a big store, employees could be alerted by Facewatch to approach specific customers.

"I know that sounds a bit like Minority Report, but it is possible," Facewatch founder Simon Gordon told the BBC. The idea is that facial recognition technology can help stores significantly cut down on losses due to crime. He's probably right about that, but at what cost? What if a former criminal has been properly rehabilitated in the criminal justice system? Should they be harassed for the rest of their lives by suspicious store clerks? What if people are added to the library of ne'er-do-wells without cause, or because a shopkeeper has a grudge? 

And all that is assuming that the tech behind Facewatch is perfect. It isn't; Facewatch failed to capture the face of a BBC reporter who recently met up with Gordon to see the technology firsthand because he was wearing "thick-rimmed glasses." Misidentification is a real concern. While Facewatch's promotional video boasts that the technology "increases conviction rates," it seems inevitable that Facewatch would also increase wrongful conviction rates.

Law enforcement agencies already use facial recognition technologies in varying degrees. In June, for example, the police scanned the faces of 90,000 people as they entered the Download music festival in Leicestershire, England. The images were compared against a database of criminals known to target music festivals. Although the police claim the images taken at the festival were not stored, the invasive surveillance caused public outrage.

Should we be concerned about shopkeepers having access to the same tech? Services like Facewatch certainly feel like a step toward a third-party surveillance state, 1984 at your local corner store. That is, if it actually works.

Currently, Facewatch is only used in the United Kingdom, and the facial recognition aspects are still in a testing phase. But there are people in the United States, Australia, and Canada who have expressed interest in building Facewatch networks as well.

Sources: BBC and Popular Mechanics 

 

 

[jamesDDI]

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Currently, Facewatch is only used in the United Kingdom, and the facial recognition aspects are still in a testing phase. But there are people in the United States, Australia, and Canada who have expressed interest in building Facewatch networks as well.

 

The next step? A chip under skin?

 

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"I know that sounds a bit like Minority Report ...

 

A bit? ROTFL

[Reefa]

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The next step? A chip under skin?

 

It's coming m8 I'm sure along with CCTV in your own house..I wouldn't put nothing past the largest criminal enterprise [government]