IS PROVIDED BY THE GRUBER FAMILY FOUNDATION

AND BY THE MEMBERS OF KQED.

A CO-PRODUCTION OF KQED

AND THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING.

Vu: CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES

CHANGING THE WAY POLICE FIGHT CRIME.

McNutt: WHAT WE ESSENTIALLY DO IS A LIVE VERSION OF GOOGLE EARTH,

ONLY WITH A FULL TiVo CAPABILITY.

Iketani: WE, BASICALLY, KEPT IT PRETTY HUSH-HUSH.

Vu: THE POWER TO TRACK MORE PEOPLE AND DATA THAN EVER BEFORE.

Wiltz: IT'S GONNA BE WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD.

Lynch: THE BIGGEST CONCERN IS THAT

ANYBODY COULD END UP BEING IN THAT DATABASE.

[ SIREN WAILS ]

Vu: WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN SECURITY AND PRIVACY?

McNutt: THERE IS A TRADE-OFF.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Halverson: JUST LOOK HERE, PLEASE.

Vu: A LOOK AT THE STATE OF SURVEILLANCE.

HELLO, AND WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL PRESENTATION,

"STATE OF SURVEILLANCE."

I'M THUY VU.

LAST JUNE, WE LEARNED THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

HAS BEEN COLLECTING AMERICANS' PHONE RECORDS AND E-MAIL

FOR YEARS.

AS A NATIONAL CONVERSATION CONTINUES

ABOUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S ACCESS TO PRIVATE INFORMATION,

LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CALIFORNIA

ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW CRIME-FIGHTING TOOLS --

EYES ON THE STREET AND IN THE SKIES,

FEEDING IMAGES TO COMMAND CENTERS.

AMANDA PIKE WITH THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

SHOWS US SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES NOW BEING TESTED.

Pike: OFFICER ROB HALVERSON

OF THE CHULA VISTA POLICE DEPARTMENT

IS TESTING A TECHNOLOGY

THAT COULD CHANGE HOW POLICE FIGHT CRIME.

[ POLICE RADIO CHATTER ]

HE'S ON A CALL TO VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF A WOMAN

JUST ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF NARCOTICS.

[ DOG BARKS ]

HE DOESN'T NEED TO ASK HER NAME OR CHECK HER I.D.

HE JUST TAKES HER PICTURE.

Halverson: JUST LOOK HERE, PLEASE.

Pike: HIS TABLET USES FACIAL-RECOGNITION SOFTWARE

TO FIND THE SUSPECT'S MUG SHOT AND CRIMINAL HISTORY.

Halverson: YOU CAN LIE ABOUT YOUR NAME,

YOU CAN LIE ABOUT YOUR DATE OF BIRTH,

YOU CAN LIE ABOUT YOUR ADDRESS.

BUT TATTOOS, BIRTHMARKS, SCARS DON'T LIE.

Pike: POLICE HAVE ACCESS TO MORE DATA THAN EVER BEFORE,

RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THAT INFORMATION IS USED AND STORED.

THE TABLET IS PART OF A PILOT PROGRAM IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

Halverson: IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL,

AND SOME PEOPLE JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE THREAT OF

"OKAY, YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL US WHO YOU ARE.

"WE'RE JUST GONNA TAKE A PHOTO OF YOU,

AND WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO COMPARE."

AND THEN, WHEN PEOPLE KIND OF REALIZE

THE TECHNOLOGY WE NOW HAVE,

THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO TELL US THEIR REAL NAME AND THAT.

Pike: MORE AND MORE, POLICE ARE USING BIOMETRICS --

BIOLOGICAL MARKERS FROM FACE SCANS AND PALM PRINTS --

IN ADDITION TO FINGERPRINTS, TO IDENTIFY SUSPECTS.

FINGERPRINTS THEMSELVES HAVE BEEN REVOLUTIONIZED.

NOW THEY'RE TAKEN ON A MOBILE SCANNER.

THEY'RE SENT THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY

TO THIS HIGHLY SECURE FBI COMPLEX IN WEST VIRGINIA.

McKinsey: THIS IS NEXT GENERATION IDENTIFICATION.

Pike: THESE SERVERS ARE THE HEART

OF THE FBI's NEXT GENERATION IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM, OR NGI.

OFFICIALLY LAUNCHING THIS SUMMER,

THE BILLION-DOLLAR PROGRAM

WILL ADD FACIAL SCANS AND OTHER BIOMETRICS

TO THE EXISTING TROVE OF 137 MILLION FINGERPRINTS.

THESE COMPUTERS ANALYZE

EACH FINGERPRINT AND PHOTO THAT OFFICERS SEND.

McKinsey: IT COMES TO THESE SERVERS,

AND THESE SERVERS ACTUALLY DO THE SEARCHES --

ALL 137 MILLION OF THEM --

AND THEN IF THEY GET A HIT, THEY GO DOWN

AND PICK SOME INFORMATION OUT OF THE STORAGE

TO SEND THE CRIMINAL HISTORY BACK TO THE QUERYING OFFICER.

Pike: THIS DATA CENTER RUNS UP TO 160,000 SEARCHES A DAY.

McKinsey: IT'S A BIG ONE.

YOU CAN PICTURE IT AS BEING

A FOOTBALL FIELD ON TOP OF ANOTHER FOOTBALL FIELD.

Pike: THE FBI HAS BEEN COLLECTING FINGERPRINTS

SINCE THE EARLY 1900s.

PRINTS WERE ORIGINALLY CHECKED BY HAND,

AND IT COULD TAKE MONTHS TO FIND A MATCH.

NOW COMPUTERS DO THE SAME WORK IN MINUTES.

BUT UNTIL RECENTLY, THE FBI HAD NO EASY WAY

TO SEARCH PALM PRINTS AND MUG SHOTS

TAKEN AT THE TIME OF ARREST.

THAT FRUSTRATED AGENTS LIKE JEREMY WILTZ,

THE ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES.

Wiltz: WE COULD DO VERY LITTLE WITH THE MUG SHOTS THAT WE HAD.

IF WE WERE COLLECTING PALM PRINTS,

WE COULD DO VERY LITTLE WITH THOSE.

WE HAD NOTHING THAT REALLY SEARCHED THOSE.

SO FOR UNSOLVED CRIMES,

YOU WOULD STRUGGLE TO BE ABLE TO SEARCH THAT STUFF.

SO INSERT NGI.

Pike: ANY LOCAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICER CONNECTED TO NGI

CAN SUBMIT AN IMAGE

AND GET A LIST OF FACES WITH MATCHING FEATURES.

Wiltz: SO THESE WOULD BE THE CANDIDATES THAT WOULD COME BACK.

Pike: THE FBI IS ALSO ADDING IRIS SCANS TO THE DATABASE

BECAUSE EACH PERSON'S EYE CONTAINS A UNIQUE PATTERN

THAT'S EASY TO CAPTURE.

FOR WILTZ, THE REAL VALUE OF NGI IS SOLVING COLD CASES.

Wiltz: THINK ABOUT HOW POWERFUL THAT IS.

I CAN'T WAIT TILL THOSE SUCCESS STORIES COME OUT.

IT'S GONNA BE WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD,

OF WHY WE DEVELOPED NGI.

Lynch: THE BIGGEST CONCERN AND WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW

ABOUT NEXT GENERATION IDENTIFICATION

IS THAT ANYBODY COULD END UP BEING IN THAT DATABASE.

Pike: JENNIFER LYNCH IS A LAWYER

WITH THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION,

WHICH IS SUING THE FBI

TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT DATA THE AGENCY IS COLLECTING.

Lynch: THE WAY THAT NGI IS SET UP, THE FBI HAS SAID,

IS THAT THEY'RE JUST INCLUDING MUG SHOTS,

BUT THAT IS REALLY JUST A POLICY THAT THE FBI HAS TAKEN.

THERE'S NO LAW THAT SAYS THAT

THEY HAVE TO LIMIT THE INCLUSION OF IMAGES TO MUG SHOTS.

Pike: THE FBI ACKNOWLEDGES

THAT ITS FACIAL-RECOGNITION SYSTEM

SOMETIMES FLAGS THE WRONG PEOPLE.

15% OF THE TIME, THE SUSPECT WON'T BE AMONG THE TOP 50 HITS.

Lynch: THOSE PEOPLE WHOSE FACE IMAGES COME UP

SUDDENLY HAVE TO PROVE THEIR INNOCENCE,

RATHER THAN THE GOVERNMENT HAVING TO PROVE THEIR GUILT,

AND THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, AGAIN,

FROM HOW OUR DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN SET UP.

Pike: PRIVACY ADVOCATES WORRY THAT A GROWING WEB

OF TRAFFIC MONITORS, LICENSE-PLATE READERS,

AND NETWORKED SECURITY CAMERAS

WILL SOON ALLOW POLICE TO TRACK OUR EVERY MOVE --

ALL WITHOUT A WARRANT.

THE LEGAL ISSUES OVER HOW THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED

AND WHO HAS ACCESS TO ALL OF THIS INFORMATION

ARE FAR FROM SETTLED.

IN CALIFORNIA,

ONE OF 10 STATES THAT GUARANTEES A RIGHT TO PRIVACY,

THE NEW TOOLS POSE A CHALLENGE --

WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN SAFER STREETS AND SPYING.

[ TELEPHONE RINGING, RADIO CHATTER ]

AT A HIGH-TECH NERVE CENTER IN LOS ANGELES,

POLICE GRAPPLE WITH THIS QUESTION EVERY DAY.

Romero: ABOUT 1,000 CAMERAS IN THE CITY ARE FED AND MONITORED HERE,

MOSTLY FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.

Pike: CAPTAIN JOHN ROMERO

COMMANDS THE REAL-TIME ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL RESPONSE DIVISION,

WHICH TRACKS CRIMES ACROSS THE CITY,

WITH AN UP-TO-THE MINUTE MAP OF EVERY INCIDENT THAT'S REPORTED.

Romero: A SMALL PICTURE OF A BOMB WOULD BE A BOMB CALL.

THE MASKS ARE ROBBERY CALLS.

THE FISTS ARE ASSAULT CRIMES.

Pike: ROMERO SAYS NEW TECHNOLOGIES

ALLOW THE DEPARTMENT TO DO PREDICTIVE POLICING,

DETERMINING WHEN AND WHERE CRIMES ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR.

AS PART OF A NEW INITIATIVE,

POLICE ALSO MONITOR PRIVATE CAMERAS NEAR THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

AND WARN OFF INTERLOPERS THROUGH A SPEAKER.

Romero: THEY ARE TRESPASSERS, AT THIS POINT.

Pike: ROMERO BELIEVES THAT,

WHILE THE PUBLIC MAY BE UNEASY ABOUT BEING WATCHED,

THEY'LL SOON SEE THE BENEFITS.

Romero: IN EARLY AMERICA, WHEN WE STARTED PUTTING UP STREETLIGHTS,

PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO SEE

WHAT WE'RE DOING AT NIGHT TO SPY ON US.