Facial Recognition Technology: Examining public support for its usage in policing and other domains

• In Event: Science, Technology, and Criminal Justice Attitudes

Abstract

Numerous visual technologies (e.g., CCTV, drones, body cameras) are used in modern policing in the U.S. and elsewhere. Over the last decade, facial recognition technology has become the most recent visual surveillance technology to monitor and identify people in public places. Using a national sample of 600 U.S. adults, the current study examines the level of public support for the use of facial recognition technology. It examines variation in these attitudes across different purposes (e.g., monitoring, verification, identification), domains, and areas of policing. Multivariate analyses are conducted across these contexts to examine how public support for this technology is influenced by respondents’socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes about crime, and their perceptions of the societal benefits and personal costs of this technology. The results of this study are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and public policy.

Authors

• Terry Miethe, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• William H. Sousa, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Tanya Dudinskaya, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Christopher Forepaugh, University of Nevada, Las Vegas