St. Louis courthouse testing facial recognition technology for security

ST. LOUIS -- A pilot program at the St. Louis courthouse is using facial recognition technology to screen for possible threats from aggrieved citizens.

Cameras at the entrance to the downtown Carnahan Courthouse compare images of visitors to photos of people flagged by judges and prosecutors as possible security risks.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday that the new program was developed by a group of current and retired St. Louis police officers and was sparked in part by a 2011 courthouse shooting in Arkansas. The shooter, who was killed by police, was angry over a divorce judgment.

The program is being tested for free at the courthouse as well as at a downtown business and a St. Louis day care center. It has come under criticism by civil liberty groups that worry such screenings intrude on personal rights.

"I think in today's world, being observed by a security camera is not that unusual or odd an event," said Mike Guzy, spokesman for Sheriff James Murphy, whose office is responsible for courthouse security. "The only difference here is if you have been deemed a threat, the security officers will be notified that you are on the premises.

"We are not screening everybody who walks in to see if they have any unpaid parking tickets or anything like that," he added.

Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri warned that the targeted approach could be a problem.

"Whenever you start targeting people for differential treatment, and that targeting is being done by the government, we have to be very careful," he said.

Courthouse visitors will be asked to pause at a security gate, take off any hats, glasses or other obstructions, and look at the cameras before passing through. The system compares each person's face to photographs stored in the computer and alerts deputies if there is a match, as well as the nature of the threat. The alert also can be sent to any designated iPhone -- for instance, directly to a judge who has been threatened.

"This was very specifically designed to only capture people you want to stop for security reasons," said St. Louis police major Joseph Spiess, who helped create Blue Line Security Solutions, the company that developed the new system. "If you look at it and it doesn't recognize you as a threat, you're gone from the system."

The use of facial recognition technology is increasing in the private and public sectors. More than half of the 50 states use it in driver's license registries to prevent ID fraud. Some companies have started using it to target ads to consumers.