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Facial recognition software helps catch criminals
FOX 35's Danielle Lama has the story.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is using a new facial recognition program to help catch criminals.
The new technology, called Clearview AI, looks through social media to help law enforcement find someone based on a photo.
Deputies can input a picture into the Clearview AI system. The technology will compare it to billions of photos on social media and other websites.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office recently purchased a one-year subscription in January.
Before that, it was using a trial since September.
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Controversy over facial recognition technology
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office says it is using facial recognition technology and social media to catch criminals.
So far, the sheriff's office says it has helped find leads with 30 different cases.
The Seminole County Sheriff's also had the software on a trial basis and helped the Clermont Police Department identify a woman they saw was caught on surveillance stealing.
Deputies used the software to match the surveillance picture of her to one of her Facebook photos and even matched it with her tattoo.
"This company, or companies like them, have the ability through technology to scrub all that public information out there," said Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood. "Whether it’s a newspaper article, a booking photo, or social media, it comes back and says 'we think this is your suspect,' detectives go to work."
Privacy concerns over the program have been raised nationally.
"We are not scanning faces at The 500 [Daytona 500], at the mall, or down the street," Sheriff Chitwood said. "There has to be a criminal precedent. There has to be a video or still photo of someone who we cannot identify."
Law enforcement agencies across the country are using the new technology to help find leads and solve crimes.