Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the come up, especially for law enforcement, who used the popular technology to identify a group of Black women who damaged a police car by twerking on it, KBTX 3 reports.
Police in Richmond Heights, Ohio, were at a loss to identify the women caught on a dash camera twerking in front of their patrol car. Officers leaned on AI to capture the women’s faces and track them down. Police used facial recognition software called Clearview AI with the assistance of the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center.
Video showed one woman climbing on the push bumper while another performed on the hood. The dancing
caused some damage to the patrol car. “There is a small dent and a little crease here. We didn’t decide to fix that at this time. There was a pretty significant scratch that was about, probably from here to here,“ the officers said.To confirm identities, the software scans social media accounts to ensure they have the correct ones.
Police forces across the U.S. have leveraged AI to aid in capturing criminals and push past established standards. However, there are some warning signs against it, as experts label the technology a shortcut to finding and arresting suspects without evidence. As technology advances and changes, police could obtain the wrong suspect. According to The Washington Post
, several police departments are using the technology and treating suggestions from the software as fact.One police report labeled an uncorroborated AI result as a “100% match,” while another said police used the software to “immediately and unquestionably” identify a robbery suspect.
Clearview is a leading provider of facial recognition software, with more than 3,100 police departments utilizing its tools. Out of the massive number, an investigation revealed that 75 departments that use the software have resulted in arrests. However, there is no way of knowing how many of them are false, since police and prosecutors are known not to disclose when they use these tools, and there are no laws requiring disclosure in all but seven states.
For the women twerking in Ohio, two of the three women have already been identified and have a warrant out for their arrest. One of the officers is encouraging the women to come forward and initiate the process, as it’s only a matter of time before they are caught. “You might as well come turn yourself in and get the ball rolling on your court case,” the officer said.
Comments from Instagram users feel like an arrest isn’t necessary, as the women were just having fun and wondering what the charge is
. Others questioned why more departments aren’t using facial recognition technology for more serious cases like kidnapping and unsolved murders.RELATED CONTENT: Do Better: Patrons Skip Out On $200 Bill, ‘Dine-and-Dash’ Fails Black-Owned Restaurants