A new state law that bans law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition for the next three years will impact the Chula Vista Police Department and the National City Police Department, which are two of more than 30 local and federal law enforcement agencies in San Diego County that utilize facial recognition to assist with identifying suspects.
The Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS) began testing the Tactical Identification System (TACIDS) in 2011, according to a report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice by ARJIS.
ARJIS is a joint powers authority that was formed by justice agencies throughout San Diego and Imperial counties in 1980. Since 2004, it has been governed by the San Diego Association of Governments.
TACIDS allows officers to take a photo of individuals on devices provided by ARJIS, either a smartphone or tablet, to assist in identifying suspects and locate missing people. ARJIS also specifies that law enforcement can use facial recognition when an officer thinks a driver’s license or ID is fake or belongs to another person.
After taking the photo on a device provided by ARJIS, the officer submits the image for comparison against the San Diego County Sheriff’s database, which contains approximately 1.8 million mugshots.
Data released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows that CVPD makes use of 271 devices to run facial recognition scans as of this year and used facial recognition more than 6,400 times from 2016-2018. NCPD currently makes use of 91 ARJIS devices and has used facial recognition more than 3,000 times from 2016-2018.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses TACIDS and has seven ARJIS devices with which they used facial recognition more than 300 times between 2016 and 2018, according to the EFF. Border Patrol also has two ARJIS devices and ran 53 facial recognition scans during the same time frame.
A.B. 1215 is effective Jan. 1 and cites facial recognition and biometric surveillance disproportionately impacting the civil liberties of people who live in highly policed communities, and often misidentifying women, young people and people of color. Studies published in 2018 by MIT and the ACLU have demonstrated these deficiencies.
The EFF raised concerns about TACIDS in 2013. Now, they’re calling for an immediate suspension of TACIDS, following Gov. Gavin Newsom signing A.B. 1215 into law on Oct. 9.
On Oct. 23, the EFF published a letter to ARJIS Director Pam Scanlon, members of the SANDAG Public Safety Committee and Mayor John Minto urging SANDAG and ARJIS to end the program, and also conduct an audit to probe whether ICE’s access to TACIDS violates the California Values Act, which restricts the ways in which law enforcement can share data with immigration enforcement agencies.
ARJIS Director Pam Scanlon and SANDAG Director of Criminal Justice Research Division did not respond to inquiries for comment. SANDAG and ARJIS released the following statement to The Star-News:
“ARJIS and SANDAG are aware of A.B. 1215, which takes effect January 1, 2020. We will work closely with our law enforcement partners to assure compliance with this and all other pertinent laws as they are enacted.”
NCPD Sgt. Wilkins said NCPD will make sure that they are in compliance with A.B. 1215.
“We will train our officers. We’ve never just relied on any facial recognition software” Wilkins said. He added that after running facial recognition scans, NCPD takes additional steps to confirm an individual’s identity.
CVPD did not respond to calls for comment.
