NOTE: The Metropolis Council’s criminal-justice committee is slated to debate surveillance cameras at 10 a.m. at this time (Monday).

The New Orleans Police Division (NOPD) is spying on you and mendacity about it. On Might twenty ninth, 2025, the Washington Publish revealed NOPD’s secret collaboration with Mission NOLA to make use of banned Chinese language facial recognition cameras throughout New Orleans to spy on you. There are greater than 5,000 cameras throughout NOLA. All of them are run by Mission NOLA government director Bryan Lagarde, a former NOPD cop. 

In 2022, the New Orleans Metropolis Council banned facial recognition. However it will get worse. By means of years of FOIA requests and analysis, I do know that NOPD is mendacity about their illegal use of Mission NOLA and facial recognition software program. 

On this Mission NOLA Web page, I see that the mission boasts that the NOPD’s eighth District has a live-monitoring station: 

However after I requested about this association, NOPD had no response:

Bizarre, however perhaps a one-off mistake? Let’s ask some extra questions:

The screenshot above reveals a WDSU article about NOPD Detective Sarah Cherny together with an alert on June 8, 2024 from Mission NOLA alert to Cherny. That is clear proof that Mission NOLA is alerting NOPD officers:

By no means deterred, I attempted once more:

Within the above screenshot, Mission NOLA wrote about notifying NOPD of an alleged facial-recognition ID resulting in an arrest. As soon as once more, NOPD has no information. 

Let’s strive once more. Certainly, NOPD isn’t illegally ignoring the Metropolis Council’s ban on facial recognition. 

Within the above screenshot, Mission Nola paperwork utilizing facial recognition to allegedly establish a recognized suspect. Does NOPD comply with the regulation and doc its use of facial recognition? 

Once more, no. NOPD contends that it has zero information of utilizing facial-recognition expertise.

The proof is plain. Mission NOLA is utilizing banned Chinese language facial-recognition software program to spy on New Orleans.

There are greater than 5,000 cameras all through the town. Mission NOLA is sharing their information with NOPD with out accountability. There’s zero coaching and no information. However the New Orleans Metropolis Council banned facial recognition software program. As New Orleanians, we can not tolerate this violation of privateness. In spite of everything these lies, we can not belief NOPD. 

The New Orleans Metropolis Council’s criminal-justice committee meets June thirtieth at 10 a.m. to increase NOPD spying powers. Please contact your Council member and inform them to rein in NOPD. 

Matthew Wollenweber is a New Orleans based mostly safety engineer with greater than 20 years expertise. He began his profession in nationwide safety, creating software program for the NSA. He presently works for a cybersecurity startup the place he builds instruments to guard customers and detect threats. Wollenweber is a progressive political organizer, a BJJ brown belt, and bulldog rescuer. 

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