Clubbers -- BioBouncer may be watching

(AS SEEN IN THE NEW YORK METRO, http://ny.metro.us/)

NEW YORK

Party-goers, beware — a trip to a nightclub could soon begin, and end, with a walk past a new device that instantly analyzes your face and compares it with a database of unwanted patrons.
Using biometrics, or the method of identifying a person by unique characteristics like facial features and fingerprints, a surveillance technology called BioBouncer may be tested in up to 10 Manhattan nightclubs as early as next month, said Jeff Dussich, president of JAD Communication and Security, which created the equipment.
“The system is basically designed as a highly skilled security guard to look for familiar faces of people coming in,” Dussich said. “These familiar faces may have been kicked out for fighting, for carrying a weapon, dealing drugs or for any other violation.”
Along with a sign informing patrons they are being watched, Dussich said a circular camera would be placed at the entrance of a club, capturing their image and entering it into a database shared by the clubs. Hours later, when a patron leaves the hotspot, that image would be destroyed.
“Information is only collected if they’ve done something wrong,” Dussich said.
If, however, a patron has a previous infraction with any of the other clubs in the system, a record of the incident is pulled up, informing the bouncer to deny entrance."

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A civil liberties advocate says facial recognition technology that is soon to be tested in Manhattan clubs is an inadequate security measure and could lead to patrons being denied entrance without recourse.
“All types of technology offer promises and have drawbacks, or succinctly put, are a double-edged sword,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “And so is this.”
Lieberman said the technology is “one of the least accurate security mechanisms out there,” referring to its usage at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa in 2001, which generated controversy over privacy issues.
“Facial appearances can change so easily, and I think the experience at the Super Bowl shows it produces absolutely nothing but bad leads,” Lieberman said. “The downside nonetheless exists of people being wrongfully excluded from clubs based on inaccurate identifiers. Is there a danger of racial misidentification? I don’t know.”
Jeff Dussich, president of JAD Communication and Security, which created the BioBouncer system, said the information gathered will be shared solely with other clubs in a “virtual private network.” The images will not be distributed to law enforcement agencies.
Dussich said he plans to begin offering a trial run of the system to nightclubs by the end of the month, with its first usage sometime in late February. The technology, which will cost $7,500 up front and a $500 monthly fee, has yet to be offered to clubs.
The idea, however, has “potential,” according to Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., chair of City Council’s Public Safety Committee.
“There are obvious concerns which would need to be addressed anytime a list is kept with no opportunity to challenge it, but on the whole, it seems like an idea with potential,” he said. “I’m a little concerned about someone being placed on the list by an untrained bouncer with a grudge and not to have an opportunity to see that list, which would get sent out to other clubs.”
Dussich said he’s not trying to reinvent the wheel.
“By no means do we mean to replace physical security,” he said. “But [BioBouncer] is a more accurate tool, an extra set of eyes to help out."

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