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- 1Cities Compelled to Feed License Plate Data to Federal Surveillance Database▼How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program
Cities across the United States are being required to hand over license plate reader data to a large federal database as a condition of participating in an anti-drug trafficking program. Reporting by 404 Media details how the federal government built this mass surveillance system through grant conditions tied to local policing, raising concerns among civil liberties advocates about warrantless tracking of drivers' movements nationwide.
- 2Deputy Accused of Using Police Databases to Look Up Teenager▼Deputy Used Police Databases to Look Up a 17-Year-Old Girl He Met at a Restaurant
A sheriff's deputy is accused of misusing police databases to look up personal information about a 17-year-old girl he encountered while working an off-duty job at a restaurant. The case has drawn attention to how law enforcement officers can exploit access to confidential records, raising questions about oversight, accountability, and safeguards protecting members of the public from unauthorized searches.
- 3Familial DNA secures conviction in Arizona woman's murder●How familial DNA led to conviction in Arizona woman’s violent murder
A man has been convicted of the violent murder of a woman in Arizona after investigators used familial DNA searching to identify him. The technique matches crime scene DNA against relatives of people in offender databases, allowing police to narrow in on a suspect when no direct match exists. The case highlights how genetic genealogy is increasingly being used to close cold cases and violent crimes across the United States.
- 4Remembering the 'Adams and Eves' of facial recognition technology▼These were the ‘Adams and Eves’ of facial recognition technology
A new report highlights the first people whose faces were used to build and test facial recognition technology, describing them as the 'Adams and Eves' of the field. The story revisits how early test subjects and standardized face databases became the foundation for systems now widely used in policing, security and consumer devices, raising fresh questions about consent and the origins of the technology.
- 5Arkansas third state to add Rapid DNA at booking stations●Arkansas becomes third state to launch Rapid DNA technology at booking stations
Arkansas has become the third US state to deploy Rapid DNA technology at booking stations, allowing law enforcement to analyze DNA samples from arrestees within about 90 minutes instead of the weeks required by traditional lab processing. The technology is intended to speed up suspect identification and confirm matches against criminal databases, though civil liberties groups have raised privacy concerns about the collection of genetic data from people not yet convicted of crimes.