Critics warn new Winnipeg police video technology could be harmful to marginalized communities

Critics say recent provincial funding allocated to the Winnipeg Police Service to purchase video analysis technology could have some harmful societal consequences.

It’s being touted as a faster way to comb through evidence, but some are raising serious concerns.

“I think that the Winnipeg police should stop. Just stop, because in so many other jurisdictions there’s legal cases proceeding against it,” said Kevin Walby, a criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg.

The province pledged nearly $300,000 to the WPS to purchase technology that will allow investigators to search and filter through video surveillance footage based on people, vehicles, lighting, and other parameters using metadata.

WPS says the technology will allow them to quickly sift through hours of evidence in minutes, speeding up a usually time-consuming process.

Police say the new tool will free officers up to identify suspects and close cases.

“It’s a tremendous amount of data and it’s very, very time consuming for officers to have to go through all of that data, all of that videotape evidence to try to find exactly what they’re looking for,” echoed Manitoba Minister of Justice Kelvin Goertzen.

Flawed technology?

While the new tech is seen as a positive by police, experts warn it is not only flawed but also potentially harmful to marginalized communities.

“There are actually some cases of real bias and racism happening from algorithmic policing,” said Walby. “So, again, the companies that sell this technology and the police that use it, they’ll say this kind of stuff reduces bias in policing. But actually, algorithms are things that people have to write.”

“We also know that these are technical tools that don’t always work,” added Joe Masoodi, a senior policy analyst at the Dais. “They actually have errors. They’re prone to false positives.”

Funding for the tech was part of a broader announcement, with Manitoba giving WPS more than $1 million from the criminal property forfeiture fund. The province says the funds will also provide 200 police service members with trauma-informed training.

Funding Through Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund Supports Crime Prevention & Investigations https://t.co/uCFEKfUnqO

— Winnipeg Police (@wpgpolice) July 4, 2023

Assets used in acts of crimes are liquidated, with money from the sale being put into the fund. The province says since the fund was started back in 2009 it has given over $26 million back to the community.

But the government’s own data shows most of the distributed funds have gone to law-enforcement agencies, which some say has to change.

“Instead of actually reinvesting it in things that would truly keep people safer, like food security, housing security, free transit for poor people, anti-racism training, anti-sexism training for young people, all kinds of things that would actually produce safety in our city, they allow the Winnipeg police to buy another toy,” said Walby.

Lax technology laws need to change: experts

The WPS says it has not decided on a company to source the technology.

Experts say this is another example of why Canada’s laxed technology laws need to change, including the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.

“That’s one of the criticisms that many folks have is that the new AIDA Act doesn’t apply or wouldn’t apply to police agencies,” said Masoodi.

“The only good that can come out of this, I think, would be if more people realize that the Winnipeg police and justice policymakers in this province are pushing us in a direction that is not producing real safety,” added Walby.