Overview

• Ten inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail on May 23, with five still at large as of May 24.
• Two escapees were identified using Project NOLA’s 200 facial recognition-equipped cameras, leading to their arrests in the days following the jailbreak.
• New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick has emphasized the importance of facial recognition for public safety but paused its use pending a departmental review.
• The police review will assess officers’ use of Project NOLA alerts, their accuracy, and compliance with a 2022 city ordinance limiting facial recognition technology.
• Civil liberties groups, including the ACLU, continue to call for a moratorium on the technology, citing risks of bias, privacy violations, and lack of federal regulation.