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Police Are Using DNA to Generate 3D Images of Suspects They've Never Seen
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkgma8/police-are-using-dna-to-generate-3d-images-of-suspects-theyve-never-seenPolice Are Using DNA to Generate 3D Images of Suspects They've Never Seen
“Releasing one of these Parabon images to the public like the Edmonton Police did recently, is dangerous and irresponsible, especially when that image implicates a Black person and an immigrant.”
By Chloe Xiang
October 11, 2022, 9:00am
Parabon images suspect image
On Tuesday, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) shared a computer generated image of a suspect they created with DNA phenotyping, which it used for the first time in hopes of identifying a suspect from a 2019 sexual assault case. Using DNA evidence from the case, a company called Parabon NanoLabs created the image of a young Black man. The composite image did not factor in the suspect’s age, BMI, or environmental factors, such as facial hair, tattoos, and scars. The EPS then released this image to the public, both on its website and on social media platforms including its Twitter, claiming it to be “a last resort after all investigative avenues have been exhausted.”
The EPS’s decision to produce and share this image is extremely harmful, according to privacy experts, raising questions about the racial biases in DNA phenotyping for forensic investigations and the privacy violations of DNA databases that investigators are able to search through.
In response to the EPS’s tweet of the image, many privacy and criminal justice experts replied with indignation at the irresponsibility of the police department. Callie Schroeder, the Global Privacy Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, retweeted the tweet, questioning the usefulness of the image: “Even if it is a new piece of information, what are you going to do with this? Question every approximately 5'4" black man you see? ...that is not a suggestion, absolutely do not do that.”
“Broad dissemination of what is essentially a computer-generated guess can lead to mass surveillance of any Black man approximately 5'4", both by their community and by law enforcement,” Schroeder told Motherboard. “This pool of suspects is far too broad to justify increases in surveillance or suspicion that could apply to thousands of innocent people.”
[...]
“Releasing one of these Parabon images to the public like the Edmonton Police did recently, is dangerous and irresponsible, especially when that image implicates a Black person and an immigrant.”
By Chloe Xiang
October 11, 2022, 9:00am
Parabon images suspect image
On Tuesday, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) shared a computer generated image of a suspect they created with DNA phenotyping, which it used for the first time in hopes of identifying a suspect from a 2019 sexual assault case. Using DNA evidence from the case, a company called Parabon NanoLabs created the image of a young Black man. The composite image did not factor in the suspect’s age, BMI, or environmental factors, such as facial hair, tattoos, and scars. The EPS then released this image to the public, both on its website and on social media platforms including its Twitter, claiming it to be “a last resort after all investigative avenues have been exhausted.”
The EPS’s decision to produce and share this image is extremely harmful, according to privacy experts, raising questions about the racial biases in DNA phenotyping for forensic investigations and the privacy violations of DNA databases that investigators are able to search through.
In response to the EPS’s tweet of the image, many privacy and criminal justice experts replied with indignation at the irresponsibility of the police department. Callie Schroeder, the Global Privacy Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, retweeted the tweet, questioning the usefulness of the image: “Even if it is a new piece of information, what are you going to do with this? Question every approximately 5'4" black man you see? ...that is not a suggestion, absolutely do not do that.”
“Broad dissemination of what is essentially a computer-generated guess can lead to mass surveillance of any Black man approximately 5'4", both by their community and by law enforcement,” Schroeder told Motherboard. “This pool of suspects is far too broad to justify increases in surveillance or suspicion that could apply to thousands of innocent people.”
[...]
