The Edmonton Police Service made an announcement on Tuesday, revealing that they will be the first law enforcement agency globally to implement a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Axon Enterprise for testing facial recognition on body cameras. Acting Supt. Kurt Martin from EPS’ information and analytics division emphasized that the facial-recognition technology is meant to complement, not replace, traditional investigative methods. The software will flag potential matches for human verification by trained officers skilled in facial recognition.
EPS aims to enhance public and officer safety while upholding privacy standards by exploring innovative tools like facial recognition. Axon Enterprise, a company based in Arizona, specializes in developing technology products for military, law enforcement, and civilian use where permitted by law. Commencing Wednesday, around 50 Edmonton police officers equipped with body cameras will trial Axon’s facial-recognition-enabled devices throughout the month.
The decision to test this technology comes in light of the 2023 provincial government mandate requiring all police officers in Alberta to use body cameras, with EPS gradually implementing the use of bodycams starting in 2024. Martin clarified that the partnership with Axon for facial recognition testing is distinct from the provincial mandate and serves as a limited trial to evaluate the feasibility and functionality of this technology within policing operations.
During the trial phase, the facial-recognition system will not actively operate on the cameras worn by officers in the field. Axon’s director of responsible AI, Ann-Li Cooke, explained that officers will manually activate the system during investigations, triggering automatic facial-recognition processes in silent mode without real-time alerts to officers. If a person’s face is detected within a four-meter range of the camera, the data is sent to the cloud for comparison against EPS’ database of individuals of interest. Non-matching data is promptly discarded to maintain privacy and data integrity.
EPS officers trained in facial recognition will review captured footage to assess the technology’s performance and accuracy in identifying flagged individuals within the database. Concerns have been raised regarding the ethical and privacy implications of facial recognition technology, with experts emphasizing the need for thorough impact assessments and safeguards to protect individuals’ rights. Following the trial period, the Edmonton police commission and chief’s committee will evaluate the results to determine the potential future integration of facial-recognition bodycams in 2026.