COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved a contract allowing the Cobb County Police department to use Clearview AI's technology. The department had previously used the technology during a seven-month pilot program.
Sally Riddle with the Cobb County Coalition for Public Safety said she was previously concerned with how the software would be used.
"We wanted to make sure that there was good control over who would get to use the software within the police department...when it could be used to make sure that it wasn't the sole determining factor in whether someone with pursued for a crime," Riddle said.
Riddle said she was against the use of the software until the most recent board meeting. One of her main concerns was that the system would not be able to accurately identify racial minorities.
These concerns and others were addressed by Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer.
"If we can't develop information that the person did it, then we're not going to rely on that tip," he said during the meeting.
VanHoozer also explained the technology has already been used to solve crimes.
"The first time we ever used it, it was a newspaper article that solved a four-year-old homicide," he said.
The software allows police to upload images into a database. Previously there were concerns the technology would be used to violate the privacy of everyday citizens, Van Hoozer explained.
Riddle tells 11Alive her concerns are alleviated for now, but she is concerned there are no statewide regulations for facial recognition software.