Detroit Limits Police Use of Facial Recognition After Wrongful Arrest

The Detroit Police Department (DPD) has implemented new restrictions on its use of facial recognition technology following a settlement with Robert Williams, a Black man wrongfully arrested due to a false face match. The agreement, considered one of the strongest in the country, prevents police from making arrests or conducting lineups based solely on facial recognition results.

Williams’ 2020 arrest occurred after the technology incorrectly flagged his expired driver’s license photo as a match for an alleged shoplifter. This wrongful arrest, along with at least two other similar cases involving Black individuals, highlighted the racial biases in facial recognition technology. Studies have shown that such technology is more likely to misidentify people of color.

Under the new rules, facial recognition leads combined with lineup identifications cannot be the sole basis for seeking arrest warrants. Additional independent and reliable evidence must support any arrest. Moreover, DPD officers will undergo training on the technology, addressing its racial bias issues, and all cases from 2017 involving facial recognition will be audited.

Williams expressed that the new agreement ensures that DPD cannot replace essential investigative work with facial recognition technology, promoting fairer policing practices.