Blood alcohol content

Some machines had "serious programming mistakes." Another contained literal vermin.

Investigation finds breathalyzers are regularly inaccurate

Hold Your Breath

Inaccurate police breathalyzers are putting innocent drivers behind bars and guilty ones back on the road, according to a new investigation.

Investigation Finds Breathalyzers Are Regularly Inaccurate

An investigation found that one police department's breathalyzer had actual rats living inside.

Officers couldn't track him down — but this drone did.

Police drone catches fugitive living in remote cave

Man (in) Cave

Using a camera-equipped drone, police were able to track down a fugitive living in a tiny cave after escaping from a prison camp 17 years ago.

Police Drone Catches Fugitive Living in Remote Cave

After 17 years on the lam, the human trafficker is now back in prison.

But they might not know enough about the tech to make that call.

Most Americans trust cops with facial recognition tech

Survey Says

A new Pew survey focused on facial recognition tech found that most Americans trust law enforcement agencies to use the tech responsibly. 

Most Americans Trust Cops With Facial Recognition Tech

And nearly two-thirds think the tech is at least somewhat accurate.

It can tell how much you've smoked in the past 3 to 4 hours.

This startup created a marijuana breathalyzer

Blowing Smoke

A startup developing a marijuana breathalyzer just secured funding through Y Combinator, one of the world's top accelerators.

This Startup Created a Marijuana Breathalyzer

And it now has the backing of top accelerator Y Combinator.

The robots will be on duty 24/7, say officials.

China deploys its first robot traffic police

Robo Cops

A Chinese city has deployed police robots to help human officers deal with traffic problems, marking another way the nation is using tech to maintain order.

China Deploys Its First Robot Traffic Police

The bots are helping human officers maintain order on Chinese roads.

The technology "does not perform as well on people of color compared to whites, on women compared to men, or young people compared to older people."

Police body camera maker decides against using facial recognition

Cop Cam Crisis

The biggest supplier of police body cameras and software called Axon just called it quits on using AI-powered facial recognition systems for its devices.

Police Body Camera Maker Decides Against Using Facial Recognition

There's a growing backlash against using facial recognition for law enforcement.

Man takes police to court for scanning his face without consent

Surprise Scan

Police in the UK must defend their use of facial recognition tech in court for the first time, and the court's ruling could set a powerful precedent.

Man Takes Police to Court for Scanning His Face Without Consent

A crowdfunded court case could shape the future of facial recognition tech.

They substituted a grainy photo of their suspect with a high-res image of Harrelson.

Police catch Woody Harrelson look-alike using facial recognition

Familiar Face

NYPD detectives uploaded a photo of Woody Harrelson to their facial recognition system to find a suspect that they thought resembled the actor.

Police Catch Woody Harrelson Look-Alike Using Facial Recognition

The NYPD knew their suspect resembled Harrelson, so they uploaded the actor's photo to identify him.

Police made the arrest based on info gleaned from a WhatsApp photo of a hand holding drugs.

UK police identified a drug dealer from his fingerprints in a WhatsApp photo

Future Society

UK police matched their suspect to fingerprints from a WhatsApp photo. Such biometric data has become both evidence for police and a target for criminals.

UK Police Identified A Drug Dealer By His Fingerprints In A Photo

It's probably a good reminder: those cameras always in our pockets are extremely powerful. 

UK Police Identified A Drug Dealer By His Fingerprints In A WhatsApp Photo

When can law enforcement look at your devices? A definitive list

Law enforcement now has the technology to break into any iPhone. Under such circumstances, its good to know when they're allowed to.

/ / law-enforcement