United States. A New York school district has finished installing a facial recognition system aimed at detecting potentially dangerous intruders, but state officials, concerned about privacy, say they want to know more before the technology is put into use.
Department of Education spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said department employees plan to meet with Lockport City School officials about the system being tested. Meanwhile, he said, the district has said it will not use facial recognition software while reviewing other components of the system.
Lockport is preparing to bring its system online, as cities elsewhere are considering limiting the use of the technology. In May, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban its use by police and other city departments, and Oakland, among others, is considering similar legislation.
A bill by Democratic Assemblywoman Monica Wallace would create a one-year moratorium on the use of technology in New York schools to allow lawmakers time to review it and draft regulations. Legislation is pending.
Lockport Superintendent Michelle Bradley said on the district's website that the district's initial implementation of the system will include adjusting cameras installed in all buildings and training staff members who will supervise them from a classroom at the high school. The system is expected to be fully online by September 1.
"To our dismay, school shootings continue to occur in our country," wrote Bradley, who did not respond to the email or phone messages. "In many cases, these shootings involve students connected to the schools where these horrific incidents occur."
The $1.4 million Canadian-made Aegis system, funded through a state technology bond, is designed to allow security officers to respond quickly to the appearance of expelled students, disgruntled employees, sex offenders or certain weapons that the system is programmed to detect.
Only students seen as threats will be uploaded to the database. Administrators have said it could thwart shootings like the February 2018 attack in which expelled student Nikolas Cruz is accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
"This would have identified (Cruz) as not being able to be in that building," Tony Olivo, a security adviser who recommended the system for Lockport, told The Associated Press last year.
Officials said the district is the first in the country to adopt the Aegis system. But the New York Civil Liberties Union said it has no place in schools.
"The Lockport School District has moved forward with implementing invasive surveillance technology in its schools with little respect for student privacy and civil rights," said education advisor Stefanie Coyle.
Source: ABCNews.
