Virginia lawmakers are pursuing a bill which would allow police to use facial-recognition technology in certain cases, a year after the General Assembly passed a measure curtailing the practice.
The proposal cleared the Senate earlier this week. It would only allow police to use facial-recognition tech when investigating a specific criminal incident or citizen-welfare situation.
Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said evidence gathered from facial-recognition tech could only be used for exoneration, not for establishing probable cause for an arrest.
"You can't use it for broad surveillance or monitoring," Surovell asserted. "You have to have a specific case you're looking at, or you have to have a person in a hospital bed, and you don't know who they are, and you're trying to figure out who's there, or you have a dead body, and you're trying to figure out who that was and there's no ID on them or whatever."
Last February, the General Assembly passed a bill barring police from using facial-recognition technology unless they receive prior legislative approval, a measure The Associated Press referred to as "one of the most restrictive bans in the country." Opponents of facial-recognition tech, including many legislative Republicans, argue it's an invasion of privacy and prone to inaccuracy and abuse.
A 2019 report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology found Asian and Black people are far more likely to be misidentified by facial-recognition technology. The bill would require any facial-recognition tech used by police to be at least 98% accurate across all demographic groups.
Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, expressed concerns on the Senate floor Tuesday the tech could still be misused.
"In this bill, even with the policies and the restrictions in place, there are no penalties if you violate it," McDougle pointed out.
The measure also would require departments to log inquiries into their facial-recognition software, and then publish a public usage report at the end of each year. With its passage in the Senate, the bill now heads to the House and its committees for further deliberation.
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On the heels of courtroom victories, some Minnesota prosecutors say they'll try to replicate the success in going after more businesses suspected of wage theft.
After the state bolstered its wage-theft laws, Minnesota's two biggest counties became more active with investigations.
Last week, Hennepin County announced the first criminal conviction for wage theft in state history.
Earlier this year, Ramsey County secured a guilty plea in a case filed after accusations that a contractor was failing to pay wages on time.
Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson said he's encouraging local investigators to "train up" on this type of enforcement.
"Wage theft has impacts that trickle out into the community, in ways that are maybe not as apparent," said Johnson. "In many situations, people aren't being paid a living wage."
He suggested not being able to provide for their families hurts local economies. Other experts note the fallout strains community resources.
Labor organizations say wage theft is a common problem in construction trades, where immigrant workers are often exploited.
Johnson said preparing his team before diving into investigations is important, given the complex nature of these cases.
In these situations, Johnson said landing a successful criminal conviction is no small feat.
He said on the surface, the business activity might appear legitimate, and law enforcement has to dig deep to prove that something "fishy" is going on.
"And we're trying to show a jury and a court that it wasn't legitimate," said Johnson. "So, that's a difficulty with fraud cases - they're not like murder cases."
Meaning, the clues don't jump out at police.
Johnson added law enforcement agencies still face pressure to prioritize violent crime. So he said he's eager to steer them toward resources that'll make any wage-theft investigations run smoothly.
So they don't feel like they are putting all their time and effort that might drag out.
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By Rachel Dissell and The Marshall Project for Signal Cleveland.
Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Signal Ohio-Public News Service Collaboration
A new Ohio law will lift driver’s license suspensions for people with unpaid court fines and fees, some of which stretch back years.
Along with the new law — which takes effect April 9 — come several steps that the state and local courts, and some drivers, must follow to make it all work.
Going forward, courts can no longer issue immediate license suspensions when drivers don’t pay a court fine or fee.
People who have their suspensions removed under the new law will not have to pay the state fees to get their licenses back. Blocks on vehicle registrations related to these suspensions will also be dropped.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the courts have until May 9 to lift the driver’s license suspensions.
State officials don’t have an estimate of how many active suspensions will be wiped away. Lawmakers estimated the bill would help hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers. Advocates who pushed for the changes estimated as many as 600,000 Ohio drivers had debt-related suspensions involving unpaid fines and fees.
The BMV is dealing with one wrinkle in the process: Local court orders sent to the state don’t always give a specific reason for a suspension. That means the bureau has to reach out to local courts to request the reason for the suspensions, spokesperson Lindsey Bohrer told The Marshall Project – Cleveland. Local courts will have to tell the state which of those suspensions should be removed.
Courts can still issue an arrest warrant or summons if a person fails to show up to court or sign a guilty plea waiver and pay fines and fees for a minor traffic charge. But first, the court has to issue a new citation and then wait for 30 days before it can suspend a driver’s license.
I have a driver’s license suspension. How do I know if it will be removed?
There are many reasons a person’s driver’s license can be suspended. This new law eliminates suspensions for people unable to pay fines and fees.
The BMV will mail letters to drivers with details of any suspensions being removed.
In cases where BMV records might have an old address, drivers can update with a current address online.
Drivers can also:
- Look up their unofficial driving record online.
- Call 614-752-7600 or 844-644-6268 to have the information mailed.
- Contact the local court where a license was suspended.
Once my suspension is removed, how do I get my license back?
Letters mailed by the state will include the steps drivers need to follow to restore their licenses. For suspensions removed by the new law, the normal fees to reinstate a license should not be charged. If a license is suspended and has expired for more than six months, they may have to retake the driver’s test.
If a person has additional suspensions for reasons not covered under the new law, such as a DUI, the letter should list which suspensions are being removed and which ones remain.
I’m already on a payment plan to reinstate my license. Should I keep sending money?
Do not stop making payments until you get a notice from the BMV. If you fail to pay, your license could go back under suspension. After the law takes effect, the fees related to debt-related suspensions should be automatically removed within 30 days.
If you are paying reinstatement fees related to multiple types of suspensions, your balance may be lowered to remove some fees.
What’s a registration block and will those be dropped?
Local courts can block a driver’s ability to update a vehicle registration and get license plate stickers. Under the new law, courts will no longer be able to do that when a driver fails to pay fines or fees. Blocks on vehicle registrations related to those reasons will also be dropped.
I have an old suspension for not responding to a “proof of insurance letter.” Does this new law cover that?
In 2019, Ohio did away with a state program that sent letters to random drivers requesting proof of insurance or financial responsibility. Drivers who didn’t respond faced license suspensions. None of those suspensions are active, state officials said. If a driver is still paying fees to get a license reinstated based on one of those suspensions, those fees should be removed.
Licenses can still be suspended if a person has an accident or gets pulled over and does not have insurance.
What else does the new law change?
Starting April 9, when the law takes effect:
- Courts will no longer suspend driver’s licenses for drug abuse, which is a minor offense, unless the person is also convicted of making or selling drugs, and they used a vehicle as part of that crime.
- Driver’s licenses will no longer be denied or suspended if a student is truant, meaning they miss a significant amount of school.
- People who have suspensions for not paying child support can ask local courts for driving privileges by filing a motion.
- The “lookback” period for penalties for driving with no vehicle insurance or proof of financial responsibility (sometimes called an SR-22) will change from five years to one year. What’s not clear is whether people currently in the longer lookback period will have that requirement dropped.
- The state will no longer block the ability to register a vehicle when a driver lacks insurance.
Rachel Dissell and The Marshall Project wrote this article for Signal Cleveland. This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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Imagine being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, under constant artificial light, with no human contact for months or even years. It is the reality for thousands of incarcerated people across the U.S. and new research confirmed the damage extends far beyond psychological trauma.
Michaela Romero, neural systems and behavior researcher at the University of Washington, is studying the effects using an unexpected subject: bumblebees. Her work reveals how solitary confinement biologically alters the brain and body, with particularly urgent implications for states such as Mississippi where extreme isolation remains standard practice. Romero's research, conducted in the ZYWang Lab, replicated prison-like solitary conditions with bumblebee colonies.
She said the findings are alarming.
"Twice as many bees died in isolated housing as opposed to group housings," Romero reported. "I had two treatments. One set of bees were completely alone in their cells and then other ones were in groups of four, under all of the same conditions. The ones in isolated housing died twice as much as the group housing."
Romero's research adds to growing evidence prolonged isolation may cause genetic and neurological harm, potentially increasing risks of aggression, depression, and premature death.
Mississippi's Parchman Farm, already under federal scrutiny for extreme isolation, denied medical care and 24-hour lighting, now faces new questions as the study suggested such conditions could inflict lasting damage.
Romero's study exposed troubling contradictions in treatment standards which would violate ethical guidelines for laboratory animals.
"I have to provide day and night lighting to octopuses," Romero pointed out. "If I did not, they would take them away immediately, yet they are not having a problem with the fact that humans in solitary confinement in our state are exposed to 24-hour light and have for decades."
For Romero, the research is personal. Her fiancé, Trevor Hendrix, has endured years in Washington's solitary confinement under conditions which would be illegal for lab animals. Her findings revealed solitary confinement is not just punishment but systemic harm with lasting consequences.
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