Metro Receives Funding for Security, Facial Recognition

Story recap from MM contributor Lisatella:
WUSA 9's Scott Broom reports today that grants from the Department of Homeland Security will soon provide more security measures to Metrorail. The improvements include additional Metro police officers and bomb-sniffing dog teams, along with high-tech security cameras and security training for Metro employees. According to Broom, much of the grant money will go toward video surveillance in Metro stations and on buses. $7.1 million alone will be spent to install in-car cameras for Metro rail that will allow for real-time viewing by transit officers with portable computers. Read more about the new funding here.

Editor's Commentary:
What's sensational about this is that this funding will also cover facial recognition technology for use potentially at station entrances! Without a doubt, this is the wave of the security future. But it is kinda creepy none the less. It makes me think of all of those awesome "Las Vegas" reruns where they instantly scan all of their footage for a specific face and can find it in seconds. The show is cool, but it's complete BS...at least for now.

How do you feel about Metro getting federal monies for facial recognition technology at stations? Does it make the system safer? I have to say, I think it actually does. But I guess that means we will now have a "no ride" list of faces, just like TSA has for names at the airports?

The lack of actual security on Metro does often concern me. Mostly because, when I am jammed on a train with a few thousand others stopped in a tunnel or station, it would be so incredibly easy for a sick individual to do massive harm to us. We can't completely turn our entire world upside down to prevent this at all costs; to some degree we have to rely on humanity (scary, I know). But we do have to do something. I guess, as long as we feel we have valuable intel about who the possible terrorists are, facial recognition will help. I guess...