tech
Facial recognition error prompts police to arrest Asian man for burglary 100 miles away
Exclusive: Alvi Choudhury claiming damages against Thames Valley police after biased technology confused him with man looking ‘10 years younger’

TL;DR
- Alvi Choudhury was arrested for a burglary he did not commit after facial recognition software matched him with a suspect 100 miles away.
- The software, used by Thames Valley police, is known to produce a higher rate of false positives for Asian faces compared to white faces.
- Choudhury, who was at his home in Southampton, was handcuffed and held in custody for almost 10 hours before being released.
- He claims the suspect in the CCTV footage looked significantly younger and had different features.
- Choudhury is seeking damages against Thames Valley police and Hampshire constabulary, citing potential bias in the facial recognition technology.
- He also highlights that his mugshot was on file due to a previous wrongful arrest in 2021.
- Thames Valley police admitted the arrest 'may have been the result of bias' but denied it was unlawful, stating the arrest was based on officers' visual assessment.