About six-in-ten say it’s acceptable for police to use facial recognition to monitor crowds, but 68% are not OK with scanning people walking down the street | Pew Research Center

March 14, 2022

2. Public more likely to see facial recognition use by police as good, rather than bad for society

About six-in-ten say it’s acceptable for police to use facial recognition to monitor crowds, but 68% are not OK with scanning people walking down the street

About six-in-ten say it’s acceptable for police to use facial recognition to monitor crowds, but 68% are not OK with scanning people walking down the street

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About six-in-ten say it’s acceptable for police to use facial recognition to monitor crowds, but 68% are not OK with scanning people walking down the street

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2. Public more likely to see facial recognition use by police as good, rather than bad for society
Plurality of Americans think widespread use of facial recognition by police would be a good idea
Widespread use of facial recognition technology by police seen more negatively by younger adults, those who have hear a lot about the topic
57% of Americans say the widespread use of facial recognition technology by police won’t change crime rates in the U.S.
Majorities believe facial recognition would help find missing persons, solve crimes but also think it would be used to surveil Black, Hispanic neighborhoods
48% of Black adults say police definitely would use facial recognition to monitor Black, Hispanic neighborhoods more often than other neighborhoods
60% of Americans say people should assume they are being monitored in public
Black adults less likely than Hispanic and White counterparts to say facial recognition will make policing fairer
Majority of Americans don’t think facial recognition technology should be good enough evidence for arrest
About six-in-ten say it’s acceptable for police to use facial recognition to monitor crowds, but 68% are not OK with scanning people walking down the street
A majority of Americans say use of facial recognition software by police would be more acceptable if cops were trained in how these tools can make errors
About half say police departments, federal agencies should play a major role in setting standards for police use of facial recognition technology
Similar shares say government will go too far or not far enough regulating police’s facial recognition use, but this varies by party
Roughly half of Americans favor use of facial recognition in retail stores and apartment buildings, they view other uses less favorably