The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/science-technology/)
In response to growing concerns about racial bias, IBM, Amazon and Microsoft have all imposed limitations or bans on the selling of facial recognition items to police in the United States.
Borrowing the old adage to never let a good crisis go to waste, live video technology is giving individuals cut off by COVID-19 from pretrial diversion services access to treatment and counselling as an alternative to prison, writes the executive director of the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative.
A new report warns that secret surveillance of social media channels used by young people frequently leads to abuses. One example: the gang database in New York City, based in part on information obtained from social media, can mistakenly identify individuals as gang members without their knowledge.
While COVID-19 has decimated many businesses and produced frightening unemployment rates, the makers of electronic ankle monitors are thriving. Because of the surge of releases from detention facilities, an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent more prisoners are wearing bracelets now compared to the pre-outbreak period.
False theft charges against a suspect based solely on a database hit in a facial-recognition system helped cast doubt on Detroit’s contract with a software vendor. Claims that such systems are racially biased are coming to a head in a city that is majority-Black.
Could the robot driving your car become a witness against you? The growing sophistication of artificial intelligence tools poses special challenges about how to use the evidence they provide in criminal trials, according to a Swiss law professor.
A trial over a disputed insurance claim, conducted remotely because of the pandemic, began with 26 jurors taking the oath over Zoom. Such trials raise complex questions about security, a person’s right to a fair trial, and whether virtual deliberation might prevent 12 people from forming the bonds needed to hash out justice, say some judges and lawyers.
The news media are covering fewer crimes on scene or news conferences, creating “opportunities for agencies to shape stories by collecting and disseminating video and audio footage,” says the Police Executive Research Forum.
Facebook has come under sharp scrutiny following the armed protests against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her stay-at-home orders, which led to the Michigan state capitol being closed Thursday. Facebook insists it is taking measures to prevent being used as a channel for hate groups and conspiracy theorists.
Victims of computer crime suffer psychological and emotional harm that can have as shattering an impact as on those who have been physically assaulted or robbed—in some cases even more so, according to a survey conducted by the University of Portsmouth in the UK.