Kansas City Plans Facial Recognition on Buses

In Kansas City, Missouri, officials are getting ready to enhance security on public buses by equipping them with cameras that use facial recognition technology. This software would identify individuals who are on lists of banned riders or missing persons.

The initiative is igniting a heated debate over the balance between safety and privacy, positioning Kansas City at the center of a larger conversation about using AI in public transportation. Proponents and opponents see this as a critical test case for the application of such technology.

“Using facial recognition in public spaces is something we haven’t really seen in the last couple of decades,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU.

Although the state of Missouri opted out of funding this initiative due to concerns about privacy, the city is moving forward with financial support from local and federal sources, according to Tyler Means, the chief mobility and strategy officer at the Kansas City Transportation Authority.

“Privacy can be complex,” Means noted. “We’ve had cameras on our buses for a while. This is just advancing technology. I believe that eventually, people will see it as something that doesn’t change their experience.”

Cameras and Technology

SafeSpace Global, a Knoxville-based company, is collaborating with Kansas City for this project. The firm has a history of utilizing facial recognition in nursing homes and correctional facilities, making this public transportation initiative their first foray into that arena.

Once images are captured, they’ll be cross-checked against active alerts, including missing persons and banned individuals. If there’s no match, the facial data won’t be stored. Video footage, however, will be archived for up to five years after the buses return to the depot.

“It’s not continuously recording,” said Scott Boruff, CEO of SafeSpace Global. “It captures a face and discards the rest.”

Stanley from the ACLU expressed concern that limiting surveillance is nearly impossible with AI technology, suggesting that today’s narrow focus could broaden in the future.

Supporters argue that cameras are already widely used on buses and other public spaces. Some law enforcement agencies employ facial recognition software to identify suspects, and similar AI-driven camera systems exist in other cities for ticketing violations, raising privacy concerns among advocates.

“Residents shouldn’t have to be test subjects for unproven technologies from Silicon Valley,” commented Will Owen from the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

Looking Back

After the 9/11 attacks, police in Tampa experimented with facial recognition but faced immediate backlash, leading to the program’s prompt cancellation. More recently, New Orleans police used surveillance cameras despite a city-wide ban, continuing to operate in secrecy.

In Detroit, high-definition cameras were installed at gas stations and liquor stores to send live crime feeds to police. After investigations linked this footage to wrongful arrests due to facial recognition errors, a shift in policy occurred without scrapping the program entirely.

James Craig, the police chief at that time, pushed for better regulations instead of an outright ban, highlighting the nuanced discussions surrounding this technology.

Delays in Implementation

The initial plan was to install the cameras on buses this spring, coinciding with upcoming World Cup events. However, the launch has been postponed, primarily due to technical issues related to Wi-Fi and funding obstacles.

Despite these delays, Means remains optimistic that the project will be executed this year, potentially expanding to include more buses than originally intended.

SafeSpace Global is prepared to begin installation as soon as funding is secured, although configuring the system will take several months.

Kansas City Council member Ryana Parks-Shaw expressed her support for taking the necessary time to implement the technology thoughtfully. “Any use of such technology needs to be handled with caution and transparency,” she stated.

In the meantime, the city plans to bolster bus security by deploying additional officers at critical transit points.