Ring Cameras May Create Racial Profiling
There are a number of reasons not to buy Ring cameras or any other internet-connected security system. If you are seriously privacy minded then you really need to understand the capabilities of modern technology before bringing into the home, but racial profiling was not a thought I had.
Racism never struck me as a problem with video cameras, however WIRED Magazine recently stated:
"Multiple members of WIRED's Gear team have spoken to Ring over the years about this feature (Neighbors service). The company has been clear it's what customers want, even though there’s no evidence that more video surveillance footage keeps communities safer. Instead, Neighbors increases the possibility of racial profiling. It makes it easier for both private citizens and law enforcement agencies to target certain groups for suspicion of crime based on skin color, ethnicity, religion, or country of origin. We have been concerned about this issue since Ring started partnering with police departments to hand out free video cameras.
It appears that when you set up a Ring camera, you are automatically enrolled in the Neighbors service. (You can disable the feature if you choose.) Neighbors, which is also a stand-alone app, shows you an activity feed from all nearby Ring camera owners, with posts about found dogs, stolen hoses, and a Safety Report that shows how many calls for service—violent or nonviolent—were made in the past week. It also provides an outlet for public safety agencies, like local police and fire departments, to broadcast information widely.
But it also allows Ring owners to send videos they’ve captured with their Ring video doorbell cameras and outdoor security cameras to law enforcement. This is a feature unique to Ring—even Nextdoor removed its Forward to Police feature in 2020, which allowed Nextdoor users to forward their own safety posts to local law enforcement agencies. If a crime has been committed, law enforcement should obtain a warrant to access civilian video footage."
WIRED’s problem with Ring is that it works with police, and allows people to report incidents to them through the app. The main complaint is, of course, perpetuating racial profiling. This concern begs legal consequences if it is true, thus lets evaluate with logic.
Let’s assume that a person reporting a “suspicious” person simply due to their race is sending the video to the police; has she increased the sum total of racism in the world, or simply exhibited her own preexisting racism?
Is it WIRED’s real problem that Ring cameras might catch criminals in the act of the crime and the police may actually have a video of the crime and criminal?
Recently, the San Francisco Police Department quit publishing most mugshots due to the belief that letting people actually see criminals was racist, and that is the real problem here as well.
Yet the problem here is not “bias,” but the fact that criminals may be one race over another. WIRED’s complaint is really aimed at reality, and like so many others they believe that hiding from reality makes it go away. Look at that headline from CNN –its very claim, that releasing mugshots creates racial bias is contradicted by the fact that the police wouldn’t take this step unless a disproportionate number of the mugshots would feature one race over another. That doesn’t reinforce bias; it reflects a fact.
Covering up the truth doesn’t make it go away, and many are determined to avoid finding a solution that would make the situation better. Changing and finding solutions is hard to do; ignoring problems and hiding truths are easy.
If you are tired of running from problems and you want help finding solutions, please let us know at Winslow Law: 843-357-9301. Don't find an excuse, and blame your security cameras or doorbell.
May God Bless You, Your Business, and this Country,
Tom Winslow