Legal Aid dubious of new NYPD facial recognition policy
BY MARK HALLUM
An update to the NYPD
policy regarding facial
recognition technology
does not change precautions
against using the feature as
evidence to convict, according
to Police Commissioner Dermot
Shea.
As the technology advances,
Shea said, the department will
continue to use facial recognition
only as an investigative tool
to identify possible suspects and
identify deceased individuals,
among other guidelines.
“It is our responsibility to ensure
investigators are equipped
with effective technologies to
bring justice to New Yorkers who
have been victimized,” Shea said.
“When a crime occurs and there
is video or images of a perpetrator
committing a crime — and that
perpetrator is unidentifi able —
trained investigators take that
image and compare it against
lawfully obtained arrest photos. A
facial recognition match is merely
a lead; it is not probable cause.”
Although Shea called the new
policy a balance between “public
safety and privacy,” the Legal
Aid Society took a dim view of
the policy which they said could
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new unit to battle anti-semitism
in the NYPD, the announcement the day after the brutal attack
on jews in Jersey City yesterday. He was surrounded by representatives
of the Jewish community and flanked by Commissioner Dermot Shea.
still violate the privacy of suspects
through misidentifi cation.
Jerome Greco, Supervising
Attorney of the LAS’s Digital
Forensics Unit, called out the
discretion still at the fi ngertips
of the Chief of Detectives or the
Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence
make exceptions to use of the
facial recognition database.
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Red Cross in dire need of blood donations
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Blood is in short supply at the
American Red Cross due blood
drives throughout the city have
been cancelled as limits on public life grow
more intense due to the novel coronavirus
outbreak.
The blood shortage could continue to
hurt those that have been injured in car
crashes, need surgery or are suffering from
cancer. So far, 2,700 Red Cross blood
drives have been cancelled across the
country as a result of the outbreak, which
have resulted in 86,000 fewer donations.
About 80 percent of the blood Red Cross
collects comes from blood drives.
In the Eastern New York Region, 23
blood drives have been canceled, resulting
in 674 fewer blood donations. The
Red Cross is adding appointment slots at
donation centers and expanding capacity at
many community blood drives across the
and Counterterrorism to
“The policy does nothing to
change the documented biases
present in the use of facial recognition
systems, particularly
against people of color, women,
young people, and transgender
people,” Greco said. “The NYPD
also failed to address their use
of photo manipulation such as
adding eyes and mouths from
unrelated photographs to the
country over the next few weeks to ensure
ample opportunities for donors to give.
As a result, the nonprofi t is encouraging
people to donate blood, platelets or AB
Elite plasma and has taken a set of safety
precautions in place:
images they are submitting to
their system, which increases the
likelihood of an inaccurate possible
match candidate.”
According to NYPD, these six
bullets are a basic summary of the
new policy:
a) To identify an individual
when there is a basis to believe
that such individual has committed,
is committing, or is about to
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
• Wearing gloves and changing them
often
• Wiping down donor-touched areas
after every collection
• Using sterile collection sets for every
donation
commit a crime.
b) To identify an individual
when there is a basis to believe
that such individual is a missing
person, crime victim, or witness
to criminal activity.
c) To identify a deceased
person.
d) To identify a person who is
incapacitated or otherwise unable
to identify themselves.
e) To identify an individual
who is under arrest and does not
possess valid identifi cation, is not
forthcoming with valid identifi cation,
or who appears to be using
someone else’s identifi cation, or
false identifi cation.
f) To mitigate an imminent
threat to health or public safety
(e.g. to thwart an active terrorism
scheme or plot, etc).
“If the possible facial recognition
match is not enough to establish
probable cause, is it enough
to stop the person on the street?”
Greco asked. “Is it enough to pull
a car over? Does it allow for an
offi cer to go to the possible match
candidate’s home or place of
business to try to “convince” the
person to speak with the NYPD?”
According to police, the new
Patrol Guide provision went into
effect immediately as of March
13.
•Preparing the arm for donation with
aseptic scrub
• Conducting donor mini-physicals to
ensure donors are healthy and well on day
of donation
The Red Cross has implemented new
measures to ensure blood drives and donation
centers are even safer for their donors
and staff, including:
• Checking the temperature of staff and
donors beforeentering a drive to make sure
they are healthy.
• Providing hand sanitizer for use before
the drive, as well as throughout the donation
process.
•Spacing beds, where possible, to follow
social distancing practices between blood
donors.
•Increasing enhanced disinfecting of
surfaces and equipment.
To ensure their staff is healthy each
day, they have implemented standard
staff health assessments prior to all blood
drives.
Schneps Media March 19, 2020 19