<nettime> facial recognition: US$1B 'just in time' for the RNC in NYC

[t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>]

     [the public response to this -- compared to responses to
      similar efforts in, say, london -- will be a useful study
      in contrasts. it's the first i've heard of it; it seems 
      likely that the systems in question have already been 
      discredited elswehere. (hilariously, just the other day i
      got responses to FOIAs i'd filed with the NYS/NJ port 
      authority -- two years after i filed them.) -- cheers, t]

http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=39441

     NYPD Planning To Install Its Own Surveillance Cameras

     MAY 02ND, 2004

     The NYPD is reportedly planning to install hundreds of cameras
     around the city that can automatically recognize the faces of
     suspected criminals or terrorists. 

     There are already tens of thousands of private surveillance
     cameras trained on city streets and buildings. According to the
     New York Post, the NYPD wants to install its own centralized
     system. 

     NYPD Deputy Commissioner James Onalfo is working on a plan for up
     to $1 billion in new computer and camera equipment, according to
     the Post. Facial recognition technology would allow police to
     pick out and follow suspects in high-crime areas and near
     potential terrorist targets. 

     Police reportedly hope to install many of the cameras before this
     summer's Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden.

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