DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach City Commissioners will decide Wednesday whether police can continue using a statewide database of driver’s license photographs as part of facial recognition investigations.
The vote, scheduled for 6 p.m., comes as law enforcement agencies increasingly use technology to help identify people suspected of crimes — while privacy advocates and residents question how far that technology should go.
In Daytona Beach, police use facial recognition software to compare an image of a person to photographs in large databases, including driver’s license photos.
The technology itself does not make an arrest or determine that someone is a suspect. Instead, the software generates potential matches that must then be reviewed by a person.
For some Daytona Beach residents and visitors, facial recognition is simply another investigative tool.
Embry-Riddle student JP Nass said he sees a practical benefit to the technology.
“It’s easier to track and see who’s who. It’s better to catch people doing bad things.”
Nass said he believes facial recognition should have a legitimate investigative reason behind its use rather than being used simply to identify people.
“Only if you have a reason to do it.”
But other residents are more concerned about the amount of information law enforcement can collect and how that information is used.
Daytona Beach police also use Flock cameras, which can collect information about vehicles traveling through the city.
Brian Turnipsed said he is uncomfortable with that type of surveillance, particularly when the technology is operated by a third party.
“That I feel is an invasion of privacy. There’s no one manning them. They’re just out there run by a third party.”
Turnipsed said there should be limits on how law enforcement tracks people, particularly when there is no probable cause.
“I still feel like if they’re going after you, they should have probable cause. Before they just track you,” Turnipsed said.
But he draws a distinction between vehicle surveillance and facial recognition when it comes to fighting crime.
“It’s what we hired them to do. They fight crime, locate the criminals.”
And when asked whether facial recognition could be an invasion of privacy, Turnipsed said:
“Safety is a little more important, I think.”
The debate facing Daytona Beach commissioners is not simply about whether facial recognition can help police identify suspects. It also involves questions about how law enforcement can access photographs of people who have not been accused of a crime and what safeguards should govern the technology.
Driver’s license photographs are collected by the state for identification purposes. The proposed continuation of their use by Daytona Beach police for facial recognition raises questions about the appropriate boundaries between government databases, criminal investigations and individual privacy.
The council’s decision Tuesday night will determine whether Daytona Beach police continue using the state driver’s license photo database as part of their facial recognition investigations.
The vote is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Daytona Beach City Hall.