COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ohio attorney general Dave Yost (R) is temporarily putting the brakes on Ohio’s use of facial recognition technology after an extensive review into its use.

• More and more government agencies are relying on facial recognition technology to solve crimes
• The process involves tapping into databases like the BMV to access citizen’s photos
• The Ohio AG is putting the practice on hold in Ohio because he believes it’s a flawed system

“My concern for making sure that citizen privacy is guarded, and that these very powerful systems are used only for their express purpose— and that is for criminal justice purposes,” said Yost.

He says that the report released by the Attorney General’s office found no instances of abuse of facial recognition technology, but that it’s still a flawed system.

For example, he says studies found women and people of color are far more likely to be misidentified with the technology than white males.

He says using facial recognition technology in criminal cases should be a tool—not ironclad evidence.

“If you get only one photograph back, that’s not positive identification, that’s where the shoe leather starts… that’s where the police work starts…you have to go out; you have to do interviews, you have a look at documents, you have to look at surveillance… if there are cameras, you have to do all the kinds of things that go into a criminal investigation to determine if you’re looking at the right guy,” said Yost.

As part of the Attorney General’s recommendation going forward, he’s dwindling the number of people who can access BMV photos for facial recognition technology from about 4,500, down to just 20 investigators statewide.

“It is done carefully, lawfully, and with strict controls and regulations, and those controls and regulations are backed up by potential felony prosecution,” said Yost.

As facial recognition technology becomes more ubiquitous, it is unclear how the landscape of its use will change.

But for now, Yost says it’s one of many tools in law enforcement’s toolbox.

“You can’t just march into court and get a search warrant based on the fact that you got a match on a piece of surveillance footage and a driver’s license photo… you’ve got to do more work,” said Yost.

The photos in the database came from a variety of sources besides the BMV, including the state’s sex offender registry, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and police and sheriff’s offices around the state.