Newspaper Page Text
Page 6 - Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The Jenkins County Times
jenkinscountytimes.com
Here’s what Georgia is doing
with your driver license
By Clara Cummings
Special Contributor
for
The Times
Going to the Georgia
Department of Motor
Vehicles and getting your
picture taken is expected,
but the agency is also
keeping that photo in a
facial recognition system.
According to
the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), it does
so to help law enforcement in cases of specific violent
crimes. However, some state lawmakers were unsettled
after an Atlanta News First investigation uncovered the
process.
State Reps. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) and Brian
Prince (D-Augusta) weren’t aware of the process. Both
lawmakers sit on the House Technology and Infrastructure
Innovation committee which, according to its mission
statement, works on issues involving new and emerging
technologies and their implications for Georgia’s economy.
"It’s something we need to look into and it’s something
we need to take very seriously,” Thomas said, adding some
protections are needed.
“We as a government [have] to do a better job or [have]
to do a good job making sure citizens know,” Prince said.
When submitting an ID application to the DDS, the use of
the tech is not explicitly disclosed to the applicant, except
for the general “acknowledgement” section the applicant is
required to check off:
“Under penalty of law, I swear or affirm that I am a resident
of the State of Georgia, and the information provided
on this form is true and correct ... I grant permission to
the Department of Driver Services to verify information
furnished to the Department through the release of any and
all applicant information to third parties which shall include,
but not be limited to the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security or other public or private entities ...”
Since 2008, the DDS has awarded contracts to private
facial recognition companies, according to documents
obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates.
“You don’t know when they’re using the data, how they’re
using the data, or in what form are they using this data,”
said Ramnath Chellappa, an associate dean at Emory
University who studies artificial intelligence and its impact
on privacy, and who raises concerns about the unintended
consequences.
For example, on Oct. 7, 2015, Marquis Stephens, 41,
was shot and killed during a “botched” armed robbery
attempt in southwest Atlanta.
At the time, police did not have a suspect’s name, but a
witness provided an Instagram photo of a possible suspect.
Atlanta police detectives sent the image to the DDS, which
ran a facial recognition search, using the state database of
driver’s license photos. Case files show 25 photos delivered
back as possible matches.
Among the returned photos, Kevin Reeves would later be
one of two men convicted in Stephens’ murder.
However, images were released of more than a dozen
other men who had nothing to do with the crime, and police
were able to use any those images to potentially build a
suspect lineup.
Kay Levine, a former prosecutor who is now an Emory
Law School professor, said many Georgia residents have
likely been in photo lineups based on this process.
“If anybody thinks the only people concerned about
privacy are those people who have criminal behavior to
hide, who have heroin in the trunk of their car, or machine
guns in their garage, they are mistaken,” Levine said.
Beyond privacy, Levine argues the process could pose a
court challenge.
Under Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021, IDs are
now required to cast a ballot. When a resident has no other
form of ID, they can get a free voter ID card from the DDS.
But that same voter ID image could also be subjected to
a facial recognition system.
“This could possibly be a new frontier for people who
want to assert an impact on their ability to vote,” Levine
said.
This is uncharted territory for lawmakers who want state
legislation, instead of waiting on federal guidance. “The
state has a role in it, especially if you’re funding those
agencies,” Prince said.
“Anything less than absolute maximum transparency
would be unwise by us policy makers,” Thomas said.
Applicants for voting can their voter ID card from other
agencies such as county registrar offices.
DDS officials declined interview requests, but a statement
from the agency cited state law authorizing it to to provide
information to law enforcement. The statement said the
agency only assists on active cases involving murder, rape,
amied robbery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated
sodomy, sexual battery, and voluntary manslaughter.
The agency has a special investigative unit of 11 certified
officers.
“A strong working relationship between motor vehicle
agencies and law enforcement is essential to public safety,
homeland security, and identity protection,” DDS said.
“Sharing of FR data plays an important role in meeting
local, state, and federal public safety goals. It provides an
opportunity for sharing resources and data to enable motor
vehicle agencies to enhance the DL enrollment process and
serves as one of many tools, and not the only investigative
resource, used by law enforcement when investigating
criminal cases.”
State motor vehicle departments across the nation could
be using facial recognition technology similarly.
The American Association of Motor Vehicle
Administrators is recommending national best practices for
the use of facial recognition technology among state motor
vehicle departments.
Despite the Georgia DDS using the technology, the
agency has no official policy on record.
DRIVER’S LICENSE
u DL NO. 123792392 a ooo 12/1
9 CLASS C 4b EXP 12/1J
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1 TEMPLATE
8 123FAKETEMPLATE.COM
SMYRNA, GA 30080
FULTON
12 REST A
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4a iss 12/05/2020
16 SEX M 18 EYES BLK
—ws-ffinpffirft 168 lb
Georgia Scholar program
now accepting applications
The 2024 Georgia Scholar Program application window
is open now until 5 p.m. on March 1. Georgia public- or
private-school seniors may apply provided they meet all
criteria outlined by the Georgia Scholar Program.
Through the Georgia Scholar program, GaDOE identifies
and honors high school seniors who have achieved
excellence in school and community life. Each Georgia
Scholar receives a seal for their diploma. Georgia Scholar
is a recognition-only program. No scholarship funds are
associated with this program.
Find out more at the links below.
Application: http://tinyarl.com/2024GAScholarApp
Verification Forms: http://tinyurl.com/
GAScholarVerfication
Student Application Guidance: http://tinyurl.com/
GAScholarGuidance
Georgia Scholar Webpage: http://tinyurl.com/
GAScholarPage
Inflation up 3.4% in
December, Americans
more confident
By, -Rob Wile/
JJ McCorvey,
Special Contributor to
I i 11 : Times
Inflation climbed from
3.1% to 3.4% in December,
a sign the Federal Reserve
will continue to have to
wrestle consumer price
growth down to its desired
2% level.
Forecasts had been for a
reading of 3.2%.
On a monthly basis,
inflation hit 0.3%, while
core inflation, which
strips away the more
volatile costs of food and
energy, was 3.9%, down
from 4% in November but
ahead of forecasts for a
reading of 3.8%.
Still, some consumers
are starting to feel better
about the economy, even
though, to many of them,
it probably doesn't feel
like a big improvement.
But after two years of
breakneck inflation that
sent the cost of everyday
goods and services
surging, 2023 experienced
a meaningful slowdown
in price growth.
After it hit a high of 9%
in the summer of 2022,
the 12-month rate of
inflation measured 3.1%
in November. Economists
forecast the rate to have
remain unchanged for
December. The Bureau
of Labor Statistics will
announce the latest data at
8:30 a.m. Thursday.
The rate will still
be above the Federal
Reserve's inflation target
of 2%. And the fact that
prices in most cases aren't
actually reversing means
the shell shock of the past
24 months for consumers
is still wearing off.
“The good news is the
rate of inflation has been
steadily moderating and
moving closer to the
ultimate goal of 2%,”
said Greg McBride, a
vice president and the
chief financial analyst at
Bankrate. “The bad news
is it doesn’t mean prices
are actually falling — just
that they’re not going up
as fast.”
Two of the categories
most affecting consumers
— food at home and energy
prices — have had more
aggressive slowdowns in
price growth than many
other categories, McBride
said. After it hit a high
of 13.5% in August 2022,
food price growth slowed
to 1.7% in November.
And gas prices, which
surged to nearly $5 a
gallon on average in June
2022, are now about $3 a
gallon.
While Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine produced an
acute price surge for those
two categories in 2021,
McBride said their price
growth has slowed thanks
to a broader slowdown
in economic growth — a
trend that is likely to
continue. The World Bank
announced this week that
it expects worldwide
gross domestic product
to hit just 2.4% this year,
down from 2.6% in 2023,
3.0% in 2022 and 6.2% in
2021.
Yet consumers still face
everyday prices that are
above pre-pandemic
levels. White bread,
which cost about $1.30
per pound in the winter
of 2019-20, now costs
about $2 per pound,
according to BLS
data. Ground beef has
increased from about
$3.87 a pound to $5.35
a pound over the same
period. And a gallon of
milk has climbed from
roughly $3.20 to about
$4.
So even as price growth
continues to moderate,
consumers are still
adapting to a new normal.
“Consumer sentiment is
still depressed overall,”
said Matt Bush, the U.S.
economist at Guggenheim
Partners. “While the rate of
inflation is slowing down,
the absolute level is still
really high — consumers
are still unhappy with the
level of prices.”
There are signs that
consumer sentiment is
slowly turning around
now that wage growth
has surpassed the rate of
inflation.
Consumer confidence
jumped in the final month
of last year to its highest
level since July. Data
released Friday showed
employers added 216,000
jobs in December, far
more than expected,
demonstrating the labor
market remains robust
even as it cools down.
Against that backdrop,
some economists
view even potentially
concerning trends, like
consumers’ ballooning
debt burdens, as a sign
that people are starting to
feel a bit more optimistic
as price pressures ease.
“They’re taking on
additional debt because
they expect to make
more money,” said
Joe Brusuelas, the
chief economist at the
consulting firm RSM.
Consumer debt figures
don’t always paint a full
picture, in part because
wealthier Americans
tend to borrow and repay
more money at faster
rates, Brusuelas said. But
even so, many consumers
“have the capacity to pay
that debt back” despite
higher interest rates on
credit cards to mortgages
and auto loans.
“In many ways, it’s an
expression of confidence,”
he added.
Mark Zandi, the chief
economist at Moody's,
said that even as wage
growth slows, it should
continue to stay above
inflation.
For consumers, that means
real — if small — gains.
"With each passing month,
it gets a teeny bit better,"
Zandi said. He continued:
"There's a slightly brighter
hue in terms of people's
responses. It's not an
event; it’s a process —
the feeling that wages are
outpacing inflation, that
purchasing power [is]
improving. That’s what’s
happening, but it will take
a while to convince people
it’s real and sustainable."
Aged to Perfection
Jenkins County Senior Center
By Lee Wilson,
Special Contributor
for
The Times
The other day at the Senior Center, we were discussing
the secret of life.
Once, a father used to say to his children when they
were young: When you all reach the age of 12 I will tell
you the secret of life. One day when the oldest son turned
12, he anxiously asked his father what the secret of life was.
The father replied that he was going to tell him, but that he
should not reveal it to his brothers.
The secret of life is this: The cow does not give milk.
The young boy asked his father what he was talking about.
The father responded that the cow does not give milk, you
have to milk it. You have to get up at 4:00 in the morning,
go to the field, walk through the corral full of manure, tie
the tail, hobble the legs of the cow, sit on the stool, place
the bucket and do the work yourself.
That is the secret of life. The cow does not give milk. You
milk her or you don’t get milk. There is this generation that
thinks that cows GIVE milk and that things are automatic
and free: their mentality is that if “I wish, I ask... .1 obtain.”
They have been accustomed to get whatever they want
the easy way. But no, life is not a matter of wishing, asking
and obtaining. The things that one receives are the effort
of what one does. Happiness is the result of effort. Lack of
effort creates frustration. That is the secret of life...
Jenkins County
Booking Log
January 17
Jan. 1 - Roquan Austin, Probation Violation, State Court 2
Months County Time.
Jan. 1 - Jovanny Hernandez, Probation Violation, State
Court.
Jan. 2 - Jazalyn Miaraha, Hold Placed.
Jan. 2 - Daniel Jay Butterson, Probation Violation, State
Court.
Jan. 2 - Rico Sanmeric Williams, Hold placed 30 Days
County Time.
Jan. 3 - Jordan Joseph Cain, Theft by Bringing Stolen
Property into State (Felony), Receipt/Possession/Transfer
of Firearm by Convicted Felon or Felony (1st Offense),
Default Bond Nunnally Came off Previous Bond, Theft by
Receiving Stolen Property (Felony).
Jan. 3 - Shamae Jefferson, Giving Inmates Liquor, Drugs,
Weapons, Etc., without Consent of Warden.
Jan. 5 - Taliyah Amari Perkins, Hold for Weekend.
Jan. 5 - Jaylon Rivers, Hold for Weekend.
Jan. 5 - Pedro Timotoe Vincente Vicente, Enticing a Child
or Indecent Purposes, Furnish Obscene Material to a Minor
when Minor is at least 14 years of age and Def. 18 years
old. Child Molestation, Aggravated Child Molestation.
Jan. 6 - Juan Russell Williams, Receipt/Possession/
Transfer of Firearms by Convicted Felon.
Georgia State Patrol
Jan. 1 - Eric Jackson, Speeding (24-29 Miles Over) (55
Zone), Obstruction of Officer (Misd.), Failure to Drive
within Single Lane Maintain Lane, Fleeing or Attempting
to Elude Police Officer, DUI (Alcohol & Drugs).
Incidents
Jan. 1 - Miscellaneous Deer Accident, Habersham Church
Road.
Jan. 3 - Unlawful Entry/Delivery Inside Guard Line of
Controlled Substance, ETC, Kent Farm Road.
Jan. 5 - Theft by Taking, Recreation Dr.
Jan. 6 - Convicted Felons, Possession of Firearms
Prohibited, Hwy 25 N.
Twenty-Four killed
on Georgia roads
this holiday season
Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Troopers investigated 14
fatal traffic crashes, and local law enforcement agencies
investigated 10 fatal traffic crashes resulting in 24 deaths
across Georgia during the 102-hour Christmas and 102-
hour New Year’s holiday travel periods. There were 15
fatalities during Christmas and nine during New Year’s.
Local law enforcement agencies reporting fatalities
during the Christmas holiday period which began Friday,
December 22, at 6:00 p.m. and ended at 11:59 p.m., Tuesday,
December 26, include the Atlanta Police Department, Cobb
County Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s
Office, and DeKalb County Police Department.
Between Friday, December 29, at 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday,
January 2, at 11:59 p.m., Cobb County Police Department,
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, DeKalb County Police
Department, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, and South
Fulton Police Department reported fatalities during the
New Year’s holiday period.
In addition to fatal crashes, Troopers investigated over
589 traffic crashes statewide, resulting in nearly 332 injuries
during the Christmas period. Over 305 traffic crashes were
investigated during the New Year’s period resulting in
approximately 156 injuries