Robert Williams facial recognition wrongful arrest

What happened

Williams, 42, had been arrested for reputedly stealing five high-end watches at a store in Detroit. 

A detective used facial recognition technology on a grainy image from the store's CCTV video, and the system flagged Williams as a potential match based on a driver’s license photograph.

 A security guard who had not been present at the incident then identified Williams in a photo line-up of Black males.

Arrested in front of his family, Williams was arrested, arraigned, detained for 30 hours and questioned in connection with a crime that took place in a store he had not visited since 2014.

The incident resulted in Williams experiencing severe emotional trauma, loss of dignity and social stigmatisation from his family and community.

In addition, he suffered racial discrimination, a loss of right to liberty and security, and loss of privacy. He also had to cover his legal fees, resulting in financial/earnings loss.

Why it happened

William's wrongful arrest highlighted well-known issues with facial recognition technology, notably its high error rates and biases against minority groups, with studies showing that these systems often misidentify individuals with darker skin tones, leading to disproportionate impacts on Black and other marginalised communities. 

In this case, the Detroit Police Department's reliance on this technology without sufficient corroborating evidence contributed to the wrongful arrest. 

Detroit Police Chief James Craig had earlier admitted facial recognition technology misidentified suspects in 96 percent of cases.

What it means

Robert Williams' wrongful arrest case resulted in a landmark legal settlement with the Detroit Police Department, which was compelled to commit to reforms regarding its use of facial recognition technology. 

The case also sparked discussions about the ethical implications of using facial recognition technology in law enforcement, and raised questions about accountability and the need for stricter regulations governing the use of such technologies to prevent future injustices.

The incident prompted calls for reform in policing practices and greater scrutiny of technological tools used in criminal investigations.

➕ April 2021. Williams sued (pdf) the Detroit Police Department for wrongfully arresting and jailing him. He was the first person known to have been arrested in the US because of a facial recognition failure.