Statehouse News Bureau

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Ohio Likely to Expand Use of Facial Recognition Technology

By Jo Ingles

Published February 21, 2020 at 2:27 PM EST

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost [Jo Ingles / Statehouse News Bureau] — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

A task force studying the use of facial recognition for law enforcement found no wrongdoing in the way the state was handling that system.

An upgrade and expansion of the system is now likely.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said this week law enforcement already has access to driver’s licenses photos. But they aren’t good quality, he said, so the attorney general's office wants the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to turn over new ones. Drivers voluntarily agreed to that when they got a driver’s license, Yost said.

“They need to weigh their concerns against that reality. Everything is a tradeoff," Yost said.

Precautions will be taken to make sure the facial recognition database is not misused, he said.

“This is no substitute for police work. Facial recognition technology is a tool to develop leads. It is the beginning of the investigatory process. It is not the conclusion of it. Nobody in Ohio should ever be arrested and charged based on a match or a potential match from facial recognition," Yost said.

Yost said his office is in the process of evaluating recommendations made by the task force to protect against misuse of the system and will likely incorporate some of them.