Assiniboia welcomes Weyburn Red Wings with open arms during ammonia shutdown
2h ago
Billets were found for all Red Wings players in just four hours.
As the federal privacy commissioner plans to investigate the RCMP’s use of cutting-edge facial recognition software, Regina’s police chief said the technology hasn’t been used by his officers.
But Chief Evan Bray admitted Friday the software could “at some point” help the Regina Police Service with their investigations.
“I understand that right now a lot of the discussion is around privacy and the importance of that (and) I think that’s a healthy discussion to have,” Bray said. “Police services are certainly going to follow that and we, the Regina Police Service, would never do something to be offside with that.
“At this point, we’re not using the technology as a service. But is that something that, down the road, might be looked at once it goes through some rigorous privacy testing? Absolutely it’s possible.”
The technology used by the RCMP is made by American company Clearview AI. The software gathers huge numbers of images from various sources that can help police forces and financial institutions identify people.
Yet it also comes with major privacy concerns about how the data allows people to be tracked and how the information is kept and shared.
While the Mounties say they’re experimenting with Clearview’s technology to identify and rescue children in images of sexual abuse posted online, they have been vague about what other purposes they are using it for.
Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien and his office were already examining Clearview AI’s practices and are now adding a separate investigation into how the RCMP use the technology.
The RCMP says it will work with Therrien on guidelines for using facial-recognition technology within the limits of existing laws.
Bray said he hadn’t heard of any instances of the software being used in Saskatchewan.
RPS connected to company via emails
Bray said he didn’t know much about a media report that said RPS email addresses had been found on the database of the facial recognition company, but suggested some officers may have been looking for information about the technology.
“We’re a big police service with 600 men and women who work here and constantly our officers are always looking for new tools and new pieces of technology and innovative ways that we could do investigations,” Bray said. “That sort of sourcing or fact-finding is done regularly by our members.”
Bray said he has sent an email to RPS employees to see if anyone had looked into the technology or were preparing a business plan to take to the service’s executive to suggest the software be purchased. He hadn’t heard from anyone who had done so.
“Our officers know that any sort of investigative technique that they use, especially if it involves software, has to be something that’s endorsed by our service,” Bray said. “We will purchase the software, we will buy a licensing agreement to it so that we can use it — which is not the case here. Our officers know that and they follow those guidelines very strictly.”
— With files from 980 CJME’s Evan Radford and The Canadian Press