The surveillance state continues to grow.

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MASS CCTV SCANNING

An extended trial of facial recognition technology by WA Police has scanned more than 130,000 faces in its opening week, prompting debate about the scope of such a system.

The five-month program uses cameras mounted on, or near, marked police vehicles to scan people in public places and compare their faces in real time with a police watchlist.

The technology is being used in Perth’s entertainment precincts and at major events.

Police say the system is designed to ‘help locate wanted people, missing people, and others considered a risk to the community’. The watchlist reportedly contains about 4,000 people, including individuals subject to outstanding warrants and registered sex offenders.

The scale of the operation has attracted attention.

Of the more than 130,000 faces scanned during the first week, the system generated 33 alerts (of course), with 19 arrests reported – as well as welfare checks and other police interactions.

130,000 people who have had their personal rights violated for 19 arrests.

Big Brother is Watching, folks.

Western Australia Police Commissioner Col Blanch has defended the technology, arguing that it is a targeted policing tool, rather than a system designed to monitor the population. Police have stressed that the cameras are overt, with the public alerted of their presence.

The police force says people who do not match anyone on the watchlist are not retained.

According to WA Police, unmatched images are immediately deleted, while potential matches are reviewed by officers before police action is taken.

But privacy campaigners, lawyers, and academics have previously raised concerns about the implications of scanning people who are simply going about their daily lives.

One central concern is that members of the public do not need to be suspected of any wrongdoing to have their faces processed.

Critics have argued that this amounts to a form of mass biometric surveillance, even if the images of people who do not match the watchlist are subsequently deleted.

There are also questions about accuracy. Facial recognition systems can produce false matches, potentially bringing innocent people to the attention of police.

Others have further warned that some facial recognition technologies can perform differently across demographic groups, raising concerns about the potential for disproportionate impacts on already over-policed communities.

Legal and privacy advocates have also questioned whether adequate independent oversight and safeguards are in place. Critics fear a function creep is possible, in which technology introduced for a limited purpose gradually expands into other areas of policing.

The WA government, however, says the trial is intended to “prevent and detect crime, locate wanted or dangerous offenders, safeguard vulnerable people, and protect the community”.

They describe the technology as “an additional tool for police”, rather than a replacement for conventional investigative methods.

The key question is whether the apparent policing benefits justify the large-scale biometric scanning of people who have done nothing wrong. Which I would argue they do not.

But many people may be missing the most important point here: What ‘benefits’ the government isn’t necessarily catching offenders – it is having the system in place.

A mass surveillance state that can, when ready, pivot to target anyone else they want. It is a win-win situation for them, even if they try to say public ‘safety’ and ‘protection’ is a priority.

As the five-month trial continues, the results will determine whether live facial recognition in open spaces remains a limited capacity experiment – or whether it becomes a more routine part of policing in Western Australia and elsewhere across the country.

I think we all know exactly what the outcome will be. The expansion will remain.

From there, we find ourselves one step closer to the dystopian vision authors like George Orwell wrote about in their ‘tales’ – where every action is monitored and watched.

Almost every facet of Australian society has become infected with this totalitarianism.

BIOMETRIC AUSTRALIA

Our country has become a science fiction landscape, with CCTV cameras on every corner, digital devices compromised, and databases that profile your every move.

In June, WA Police first announced they would expand their facial recognition technology – once again under the guise of ‘keeping us safe’.

WA Police announce facial recognition capabilities will be expanded
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However, WA Police already have more than enough capabilities to effectively protect the community – perhaps much more than is actually needed to serve this purpose.

In 2019, City of Perth introduced 700 facial recognition CCTV cameras that reports stated would “…be able to recognise your face, tell your gender and track your movements”.

This shift was all part of Perth’s commitment to their greater Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, a transformation seen all across Australia in major cities and regions.

This includes a variety of ‘smart upgrades’, such as facial recognition terminals at Perth airport, the rollout of Perth’s Optus Stadium as a ‘5G smart arena’, and much more.

Perth’s Optus Stadium becomes Australia’s first 5G ‘smart arena’
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They already have an eerie dob-your-neighbour-in mentality regarding activities that occur in the city, keeping an eye on ‘anti-social’ behaviour that may disrupt ‘social cohesion’.

City of Perth wants you to report ‘anti-social behaviour’ to a hotline
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Yet we are supposed to trust them that this expanded trial of more cameras is absolutely needed for the community? Do they think people are really that stupid?

It is nothing more than a giant scam to fulfil the final stage of the mass grid they have been setting up since 9/11, with the true aim of removing any privacy the individual has left.

Instead of protecting our rights, we have repeatedly witnessed authorities and our ‘representatives’ defend these actions – allowing for the floodgates to open.

Face scans set to become commonplace in Australia after Bunnings ruling
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From public spaces, to football matches, and even pubs and clubs – everywhere has become plagued with this technological infection, and it will only increase in scale as time goes on.

Report finds major stadiums in Australia are using facial recognition
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Pubs and clubs argue more facial recognition will help ‘protect public’
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They tell us it is for ‘crime prevention’, yet behind the scenes, complex algorithms are determining what type of person you are, and ensuring you will never be able to run.

Australia to launch national facial recognition database for driver’s licenses
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Centralised government services and digital platforms alike now require you to scan your biometric data just to use the applications, and alternative options are disappearing.

Here it comes: myGov shakeup will welcome biometric nightmare
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Indeed, Australia is at the forefront of this transformation of free societies, turning each and every citizen until a guilty criminal until proven innocent – an inversion of Western values.

The Age of Big Brother: Australia’s Biometric Shift
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WA Police will retain all of the capabilities introduced from this expanded trial, and the technology will become permanently incorporated into their surveillance apparatus.

Just like we see taking place all across Australia, even inside of our bushlands.

The New World Order is here, and we are living inside of it.

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