Police recognition CCTV tech trial fails

An unapproved police trial of controversial facial recognition software conducted dozens of searches for suspects in New Zealand.

This week, Radio NZ revealed police did not have any of the necessary clearance from their bosses, the government or the Privacy Commissioner to test American software Clearview AI. Police conducted a short trial between February and March, but decided not to use the technology.

Clearview, which is used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies, is effectively a searchable database of billions of images lifted from the internet that can easily identify people once their photos are uploaded.

During the New Zealand trial, a police team in the ‘‘high tech crime unit’’ tested Clearview by uploading images of officers and suspects.

Police national manager of criminal investigations Tom Fitzgerald said its use was limited to about 150 searches of police volunteers, and roughly 30 searches of persons of interest. This only involved about five suspects, but each generated several searches.

Fitzgerald said police only got one successful match for a person whose photo was already in the media.

‘‘We’ve proven Clearview didn’t work,’’ he said, adding that it would not be used in the future.

Official emails released to RNZ show how police first used the technology – by submitting images of wanted people who looked ‘‘to be of Ma¯ ori or Polynesian ethnicity’’, as well as ‘‘Irish roof contractors’’.

Fitzgerald said those people were targeted in part because they wanted to test if the software, like some other facial recognition systems, struggled to identify non-Europeans.

‘‘The test included that and confirmed it didn’t work,’’ he said.

Fitzgerald said the police team undertaking the trial were wellmeaning, but in hindsight they should have sought approval first.

‘‘I think they’ve all realised that would be easier to do that earlier before any conversation, rather than seeing if it’s fit for purpose first.’’