“Our approach strikes a … Currently, there are no requirements that law enforcement officers must meet to ask the RMV to run a search. The Massachusetts Coalition of Police, which represents 4,300 officers in 157 communities, supported the new licensing requirements, but raised objections to how quickly the bill was pushed through without a … Studies have found that many facial recognition programs misidentify people of color at a disproportionately high rate. The Massachusetts State Patrol is primarily responsible for patrolling and safeguarding the states highway system, among many other duties. reports 5,655 new COVID-19 cases, 76 new deaths, Dark days: Experts fear the holidays will fuel the U.S. crisis, GOP blocks $2,000 checks as Trump leaves COVID aid in chaos, PA man is accused of casting Trump vote for his dead mother, Breakthrough: UK and EU reach post-Brexit trade agreement, Retailers brace for flood of returns from online shopping, 4 New England governors warn of virus threat over holidays, A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations, 2020 in photos: Protests, politics, and the pandemic, Report: Biden 'definitely wants Marty Walsh' for Labor secretary, Methuen police chief placed on leave for orchestrating exorbitant police contracts, Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner, Roger Stone, UPS driver dies after assault; co-worker taken into custody, Trump vetoes defense bill, setting up possible override vote, Mass. Who gets a slap on the wrist versus who gets fired? Police have had access to the RMV’s system since the agency started using it in 2006, but that’s not the only facial recognition program available to law enforcement in Massachusetts. The lack of oversight in Massachusetts, she says, is “a huge problem.”. He said states should focus on prevention instead of oversight by investing in creating more diverse hiring processes and extensive training programs regarding the use of force. (WWLP) – Police officers will be among the first groups to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts. “Too often I think when people look at reforms they look at banning certain practices,” Wexler said. Massachusetts police reform bill: Senate redrafts facial recognition proposal after Gov. However, supporters note that the bill would still allow police to access the RMV’s facial recognition system for those types of criminal investigations through the warrant process or through the life-threatening emergency exception included in the legislation. Rahsaan Hall, director of the Racial Justice Program for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said he thinks the bill is a “strong first step.” But, he disagrees with Baker’s decision to remove provisions that aimed to protect residents from unregulated police use of face surveillance technology, which he said is often “racially biased.” He hopes the House and Senate will restore those measures before the final bill is sent to Baker. The bill was passed Dec. 1 by both the Massachusetts House and Senate after months of deliberation in the wake of nationwide protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com, “I’m not going to sign a bill into law that bans facial recognition,” Baker told the State House News Service earlier this month, after, The move elicited a backlash from progressives, including, that many facial recognition programs misidentify people of color at a disproportionately high rate. “For example, in the last few years here in Massachusetts, a child rapist and an accomplice to a double murder are both now in prison thanks to facial recognition technology.”. 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