Law Enforcement Technology

FTC Rightfully Acts Against So-Called “AI Weapon Detection” Company Evolv
The Federal Trade Commission has entered a settlement with self-styled “weapon detection” company Evolv, to resolve the FTC’s claim that the company “knowingly” and repeatedly” engaged in “unlawful” acts of misleading claims about their technology.
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EFF Tells the Second Circuit a Second Time That Electronic Device Searches at the Border Require a Warrant
The number of warrantless device searches at the border and the significant invasion of privacy they represent is only increasing. In Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted 41,767 device searches.
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High-Tech Methods to Stem the Flow of Fentanyl
Keeping up with illicit labs churning out new forms of fentanyl, nitazenes is the goal.
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How AI Can Enhance the Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification
AI and natural language processing can provide deeper insights into eyewitness reliability. “Just because someone says they’re confident doesn’t mean they’re right. The worst mistakes come from highly confident witnesses who are actually wrong,” one expert said.
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U.K. Courts Are Getting It Wrong on Eyewitness Evidence: Study
A ‘pivotal shift’ in how UK Courts view eyewitness evidence is needed according to new research. Researchers found an almost unanimous shift in beliefs about the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy.
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Weak "Guardrails" on Police Face Recognition Use Make Things Worse
Police use of face recognition technology (FRT) poses a particularly massive risk to our civil liberties, particularly for Black men and women and other marginalized communities.
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SARCOP: One Team. One Mission. One Map.
The Search and Rescue Common Operating Platform (SARCOP) aggregates multiple emergency management applications and advanced geospatial analytics into a single dashboard, giving response agencies enhanced situational awareness when every second counts.
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New Method for Fingerprint Analysis Holds Great Promise
Overlapping and weak fingerprints pose challenges in criminal cases. A new study offers a solution and brings hope for using chemical residues in fingerprints for personal profiling.
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'Significant' Risks as Facial Recognition in Russia's Subways Goes Regional
In a move that human rights advocates warn carries potential risks for civil rights, Russia has begun expanding its facial-recognition payment system for subways to six cities outside of Moscow.
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To Win the AI Race, China Aims for a Controlled Intelligence Explosion
China’s leader Xi Jinping has his eye on the transformative forces of artificial intelligence to revolutionize the country’s economy and society in the coming decades. But the disruptive, and potentially unforeseen, consequences of this technology may be more than the party-state can stomach.
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I Studied ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City – Here’s What People in Detroit and the More Than 167 Other Cities and Towns Using This Technology Should Know
One method Detroit and other cities facing high levels of gun violence have employed is gunshot detection technology, specifically the industry-leading ShotSpotter product, which uses acoustic sensors to notify police when the system hears gunfire. Since 2020, my colleagues and I have conducted the largest study on this technology. Our research was designed to test both the efficiency and effectiveness of this technology.
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Data Privacy After Dobbs: Is Period Tracking Safe?
Many people think all health care information is protected under the federal privacy law, known as HIPAA. But menstrual cycle tracking apps, along with other health care technologies, like texting platforms that patients can use with doctors, are not. There haven’t been any cases where a menstrual tracking app’s data has been subpoenaed yet, but that’s probably due to the slow speed of which cases proceed through the court system.
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S&T Deploys DETER at the Indy 500
The DHS S&T, CISA, and ERDC teamed up to deploy a new vehicle barrier at this year’s race. S&T is evaluating DETER in real-world environments like the Indy 500 and last year’s NFL Draft to identify operational requirements for law enforcement.
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Detroit Takes Important Step in Curbing the Harms of Face Recognition Technology
In a first-of-its-kind agreement, the Detroit Police Department recently agreed to adopt strict limits on its officers’ use of face recognition technology as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by a victim of this faulty technology.
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Hundreds of Tech Companies Want to Cash In on Homeland Security Funding. Here's Who They Are and What They're Selling.
Whenever concerns grow about the security along the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration, the U.S. government generate dollars — hundreds of millions of dollars — for tech conglomerates and start-ups. Who are the vendors who supply or market the technology for the U.S. government’s increasingly AI-powered homeland security efforts, including the so-called “virtual wall” of surveillance along the southern border with Mexico?
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