Bieter drops facial recognition at Boise City Hall after contract draws criticism
The office of Boise Mayor David Bieter announced Friday that the city will not use facial recognition technology at City Hall after all.
In a news release, Bieter’s office announced that the city would not proceed with a $31,000 contract with Meridian-based CompuNet that he had authorized to identify people who enter Boise City Hall and City Hall West.
“After researching this issue further, the city is concerned with how this technology has been used in other cities,” said a news release from the mayor’s office. “The city will use other proven methods to keep our employees safe.”
Bieter’s office had approved facial recognition to identify people banned from City Hall. Mike Journee, a spokesman for Bieter, told the Statesman on July 9 that a person could be banned from City Hall for making threats or by having judicial orders prohibiting contact with individual city employees. At the time, no one was banned from City Hall.
Bieter administration officials argued that using the technology would act as a security measure for the public-facing employees at City Hall, but others criticized the choice.
Lauren McLean, the Boise City Council president who is challenging Bieter in the November mayoral election, said the decision to use the technology was “a disappointing step backwards” at a time when Boise residents are asking for more transparency at City Hall.
Across the country, the software has had many criticisms. It’s been banned in some cities and a recent federal bill proposes banning it in public housing.
“The city is currently working to provide employees software that will allow them to use their cell phones to immediately notify security personnel if a threat arises,” the mayor’s news release said. “This software also would allow employees to opt in to receive security notifications from the city when a threat is present. The city also is planning additional training for employees on how to identify and react to a variety of different security concerns.”
In addition to the CompuNet contract, using the technology would have cost the city $21,000 to build a server to house the program.
The CompuNet contract “has not been finalized and no city funds have been expended to date on the software,” a news release read.
Bill Ilett, managing partner of the now-departed Idaho Stampede, an NBA developmental league team, was banned from City Hall temporarily in October after he confronted a city official over a proposed sports stadium that Ilett opposed and the City Council favored.
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 5:30 PM.
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