VPD could use facial recognition technology to find rioters
Posted Jun 22, 2011 6:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – ICBC has been given the green light from BC’s privacy commissioner to let the Vancouver Police Department use its facial recognition technology to match pictures of rioters and looters against drivers license photos.
News1130 hit the street, asking if the sharing of ICBC data is an invasion of privacy, or a valuable tool for investigators:
“Yeah, I say go for it,” says Jay. “I mean, look at all the damage they did and they had no problem showing their faces to all the cameras, all the cellphones, all the video cameras that people had. Their faces are out there.”
Pushpa has no problem with it. “I would definitely go with that, no problem at all. Go after them and make it public. They did very serious crimes.”
The BC Civil Liberties Association doesn’t like ICBC sharing its data, saying the public insurer is not a branch of the VPD and not in the business of population-based surveillance.
Heroes being hailed online
It’s not just hooligans being outed on the Internet; the heroes are, too. News1130 earlier told you about the man who was beaten as he tried to defend The Bay, but what drove him and others to stand up for our city?
Rob Gordon is a criminologist with SFU and says it’s difficult to say exactly what defines a Good Samaritan, but they’re usually structured in a way that their altruism outweighs anything else.
The Vancouver Sun also talked with a psychology professor who says studies on the mob mentality show most people will hold back, thinking someone else will deal with the situation.
