APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) — Surveillance, big data collection, and facial recognition are here, like it or not.
Now, a new effort in the Fox Valley is being made to develop a first-of-its-kind training program for law enforcement on its use.
Aaron Tomlinson is the program development administrator for the Fox Valley Based National Criminal Justice Training Center says they want to see the technology used ethically.
“Things like big data and facial recognition give pause and concern,” Tomlinson told WTAQ. “Part of this is getting the right information out as to how this information is getting collected in the first place, and more importantly, how it’s being used in an investigation.”
That means developing a training program that is head of the technological curve.
“The technology is evolving so rapidly that often the training doesn’t keep up with it,” Tomlinson said. “This technology is out here and has been for some time. We want to make sure it’s being used ethically and correctly.”
Tomlinson says a blueprint for such ethical use can be found.
“Say a child goes missing. We find grainy footage of an adult walking into a gas station with that abducted child,” said Tomlinson. “It’s our duty to use facial recognition to potentially identify that suspect.”
The National Criminal Justice Training Center is part of Fox Valley Technical College. They’re partnering with Biometrica, an Arizona tech company, to develop the training.
The program aims to start up in August at a facility in Arizona before launching locally in September.
