Technology & Commercial Transactions - Lawyer Monthly

Arizona Police Use AI to Improve Suspect Composite Images

Susan Stein — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:33:21 +0000

Arizona Police Use AI to Improve Suspect Composite Images

Goodyear police are piloting AI-enhanced suspect composites, raising new questions about identification accuracy, public alerts and how digital images will be treated in criminal cases.

Two days after a late-November shooting in Goodyear, a fast-growing suburb of Phoenix, police asked residents for help identifying a man shown in what looked like a mug shot: a middle-aged figure in a hoodie and beanie, with a short goatee and blank expression.

The department stressed that the picture was not a real photograph but an AI-generated image built from a witness interview and a traditional hand sketch.

The approach follows an earlier April 2025 case, when Goodyear first released an AI composite for an attempted kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl.

The shift matters because image-based identification is already under scrutiny in U.S. courts and legislatures, especially as police adopt facial recognition and other automated tools.

Federal agencies and major AI companies have agreed to voluntary commitments encouraging watermarking and clear labelling of AI-generated content, while the Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on AI presses for transparency and safeguards around high-risk systems.

These developments form the backdrop for experiments like Goodyear’s, where lifelike AI faces may influence what witnesses, jurors and members of the public think they are seeing.

How Goodyear’s AI composite system works in practice

Goodyear’s process still begins with a standard investigative interview. A trained forensic artist speaks with victims and witnesses, asking structured questions about facial shape, hair, age range and other features, in line with long-standing composite sketch protocols.

The artist first produces a pencil sketch, then uses an AI tool to convert that drawing into a photorealistic face, iterating on the image while the witness watches and suggests adjustments.

The April 2025 AI image, released after the attempted abduction of a 14-year-old on 144th Avenue, shows a white man believed to be between 50 and 60 years old, around six feet tall and about 200 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.

Officials say the same workflow was used in November’s shooting case, with a witness repeatedly describing the suspect’s “dumbfounded” look, which the artist then asked the AI system to convey.

Both AI-assisted cases remain open, and police say neither image has yet produced an arrest. However, the department reports that its first AI composite generated a noticeably larger volume of public tips than earlier hand-drawn sketches.

How officials and communities are reacting

Goodyear’s forensic artist, Officer Mike Bonasera, has publicly endorsed the AI tool as a way to modernise suspect appeals and capture public attention on social media feeds that are saturated with high-resolution imagery.

He has sketched suspects for about five years and now says he plans to use AI for all future composites after securing sign-off from department leadership and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Elsewhere, law-enforcement use of AI images has already triggered backlash. In July 2025, the Westbrook Police Department in Maine apologised after posting an image of seized drugs that turned out to be an AI-generated fabrication.

An officer had used ChatGPT to add a department badge to a real evidence photo; the tool instead produced a fully synthetic picture, which the agency mistakenly shared and initially defended as genuine before acknowledging the error.

Civil-rights and technology advocates have warned that highly realistic AI imagery can be misleading if not clearly labelled.

National and international guidance has increasingly pushed for transparency: the White House’s 2023 voluntary AI commitments and subsequent executive order both highlight watermarking and disclosure for AI-generated content as a basic safeguard.

What AI suspect images mean for public identification

For members of the public, AI-generated composites may feel more “real” than traditional sketches, even though both are rooted in the same fallible human memory.

Research on facial composites has long shown that people often struggle to match or correctly name a suspect from a sketch, with recognition rates in some studies hovering around 20 percent for modern composite systems.

At the same time, facial-recognition benchmarks from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have documented persistent accuracy gaps across demographic groups, with some algorithms misidentifying Black and Asian faces more frequently than white faces.

If an AI composite were later fed into such systems without safeguards, those combined weaknesses could amplify the risk of mistaken identity.

A 2019 campaign and technical review by Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology advised agencies not to submit artist sketches to face-recognition databases at all, warning that sketches are “highly unlikely” to produce a correct match and may generate misleading candidate lists.

That concern remains relevant when the “sketch” is AI-enhanced and appears closer to a candid photograph.

Research evidence on composites, memory and AI tools

Decades of cognitive-psychology research show that human memory for faces degrades quickly and can be reshaped by later information.

Meta-analyses of composite systems such as E-FIT, PROfit and EvoFIT have repeatedly found that correct naming rates are low and can drop further when there is a long delay between seeing the face and constructing the composite.

A comprehensive 2020 review in Criminal Justice and Behavior concluded that viewing facial composites can even distort a witness’s later memory, sometimes pulling recollection toward the composite rather than the original face.

Separate studies comparing professional facial examiners, “super-recognisers” and algorithms find that top-tier algorithms can now match trained experts on high-quality images—but those tests typically use real photographs, not sketches or AI renditions.

Legal scholars, including those at the University of Arizona and George Washington University, have highlighted a procedural gap: a forensic artist can explain their choices under oath, but the internal workings of a large generative model are far harder to interrogate in court.

How residents can respond and report information

Goodyear officials say AI composites are used solely to request leads. Under Arizona’s public-records law, A.R.S. § 39-121, residents have a general right to inspect existing public records, though active investigative materials can be withheld in some circumstances.

Anyone who believes they recognise a person from an AI composite is urged not to confront individuals directly. Instead, Goodyear’s official guidance is to report crimes in progress via 911 and use the 24-hour non-emergency line — 623-932-1220 — for tips about past incidents or possible suspects.

The department also offers online reporting for certain non-violent offences via its city website.

Residents who want to understand how their information will be handled can consult local public-records policies or ask to speak with a case detective before sharing detailed statements.

Next steps for Goodyear and other agencies

Goodyear police say they intend to keep using AI to enhance suspect sketches in future cases, now that the process has internal approval and has produced a larger volume of public tips.

Investigators will continue to treat the images as one tool among many, alongside witness interviews, physical evidence and any available surveillance footage.

Professionally, Bonasera has begun sharing his workflow with other departments, and law-enforcement trade outlets have covered Goodyear’s approach in detail, which could encourage pilot projects elsewhere.

Any broader rollout is likely to be shaped by future case law, state-level AI policies and internal guidelines on how and when such composites may be entered into evidence.

Why this story matters for public identification and policing

This development highlights how a long-standing investigative tool, the witness-based composite sketch is being adapted with new digital methods.

It affects residents who may encounter these images in public alerts, witnesses whose descriptions are translated into visual form, and individuals whose likeness may be approximated without a photograph.

The approach raises practical questions about accuracy, fairness and how memory-based images should be presented and interpreted.

As more agencies examine similar tools, clear explanation, proper labelling and transparent rules on how these images are used in investigations will be essential for maintaining public confidence.

Digital Privacy Risks in 2025 — And How Ordinary Users Can Stay Protected

Jacob Mallinder — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:08:05 +0000

Introduction

A few years ago, digital privacy felt like something only IT departments and cybersecurity specialists needed to worry about. That is definitely no longer the case. Today, everything we do online leaves a trail—sometimes tiny, sometimes surprisingly revealing—and that trail can end up in places we never intended. Between stricter privacy laws, growing data collection practices, and an endless stream of breach headlines, people are understandably anxious about who has their information and what they’re doing with it.

This article examines the current privacy landscape in 2025, where everyday technology quietly collects sensitive information at a scale that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. It also explores how tools such as VPNs fit within digital-risk mitigation strategies, grounding everything in factual, non-promotional terms. The goal is to help readers understand what protections are realistic, what limitations exist, and how to make informed decisions.

Regulators have improved enforcement, but for the average person, the most practical strategy is prevention: reducing how much of your digital footprint is exposed in the first place.

1. The Rising Legal Stakes Behind Data Exposure

Privacy laws today define personal data in much broader terms than most people expect. It’s not only your name or birthday. It includes device identifiers, browsing patterns, location trails, and metadata that quietly paints a picture of daily life. Frameworks like the GDPR and CPRA make organizations responsible for protecting this information, but the sheer volume collected makes incidents almost inevitable.

IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report put the global average breach cost at $4.45 million, marking a steady climb. While that figure affects companies directly, individuals often face long-term consequences like identity theft and account compromise. For most people, preventing unnecessary exposure is far more practical than dealing with legal remedies afterward.

2. The Everyday Habits That Quietly Increase Your Risk

Ironically, many privacy risks don’t come from “hackers in hoodies.” They come from perfectly ordinary behavior:

Connecting to public Wi-Fi at airports or coffee shops without a second thought
Letting apps track your location because tapping “Allow” is faster
Accepting cookie banners blindly just to read an article
Assuming HTTPS protects everything, even though DNS lookups may still reveal where you’re going online

These aren’t careless choices—they’re human ones. But each small action creates a breadcrumb, and those breadcrumbs add up. Understanding this pattern is the first step toward reducing your footprint.

3. How VPNs Fit Into the Picture (Without Overhyping Them)

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) isn’t a catch-all privacy solution, but it does help address several high-risk areas in a straightforward way. A VPN encrypts your connection and masks your IP address, which protects your traffic on untrusted networks and reduces some forms of tracking.

For users who want to add this layer of protection, starting with a reputable option matters. Many people begin with a VPN Download from a provider that supports strong encryption, transparent policies, and reliable performance. X-VPN is often referenced in consumer-tech reviews for its large server network and ease of use—helpful for people who want security without needing deep technical knowledge.

For anyone curious about where VPN protection actually begins and ends, this resource offers a clear explanation:
How VPNs Protect Your Sensitive Personal Data — and What They Can’t Do.
It walks through both benefits and limitations—something many users overlook.

4. What a VPN Realistically Helps With

Here’s where VPNs genuinely make an impact:

a. Safer Connections on Public Wi-Fi

Cafés, hotels, and airports often run unsecured networks. VPN encryption helps prevent snooping, data interception, and fake-Wi-Fi attacks.

b. Reducing ISP-Level Tracking

Without a VPN, your internet provider can see many details about your activity. With a VPN, they see only that you’re connected to a VPN server—not where you go afterward.

c. Masking Your IP Address

Your IP can reveal your city or neighborhood and can be used to link your browsing sessions together. A VPN masks that information, making targeted profiling harder.

d. Consistent Protection Across Devices

Most households now use a small collection of laptops, phones, and tablets. A VPN offers a simple way to keep all of them consistently protected.

These benefits are practical and grounded in real, well-understood networking principles.

5. What a VPN Cannot Do (And Why Understanding This Matters)

A VPN is powerful, but it has limits—important ones.

a. It Can’t Prevent Data Breaches at Services You Use

If a company mishandles your information, a VPN cannot shield you from that outcome.

b. It Won’t Block Viruses or Phishing

Antivirus tools and human awareness still play major roles here.

c. It Doesn’t Hide Information You Provide Voluntarily

If you log in, fill out a form, or upload documents, that’s tied to your identity regardless of your connection method.

d. It Doesn’t Stop Browser Fingerprinting or Cookies

Websites still have many ways to recognize returning users.

Knowing these boundaries helps avoid the false sense of security that leads to risky behavior.

6. A Practical, Layered Approach to Better Privacy

Good privacy doesn’t have to be complicated. Most improvements come from simple habits:

Use strong, unique passwords (password managers help).
Enable multi-factor authentication.
Keep apps and software updated.
Review permissions on your phone occasionally.
Use encrypted messaging when it matters.
Be cautious with links and attachments.

A VPN fits into this picture by shrinking your exposure at the network level. It’s not the whole solution, but it’s one of the simplest meaningful upgrades an average person can make.

Conclusion

Privacy protection can feel overwhelming, especially when technology changes faster than the rules around it. But staying safe online doesn’t require becoming an expert—it just requires awareness and a few thoughtful habits. Understanding what tools like VPNs can and cannot do helps build a balanced, realistic strategy. With the right mix of caution and clarity, anyone can take back a bit more control over how their information moves through the digital world.

Why Using Top Slack eDiscovery Tools Matters

Jacob Mallinder — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:33:43 +0000

Messaging platforms have become the backbone of daily communications for many organizations. With more and more of these conversations happening, there is also a growing need to find a way to deal with information online in a responsible way. Of course, complying with privacy laws requires handling that data appropriately. Using modern eDiscovery tools ensures the searchability of all messages and prevents message loss.

1. Growing Importance of Digital Communication

Messaging platforms have become essential for collaboration and decision-making. Teams often exchange ideas, share files, and record agreements through these channels. As digital conversations replace traditional emails, they generate a large archive of valuable records. Retaining and managing these records through top Slack eDiscovery tools becomes a priority for every organization.

2. Legal Compliance and Risk Management

Each corporation has its legal requirements to follow with regard to data retention and privacy. Disregarding these rules may result in monetary fines or disputes. By archiving messages appropriately, advanced eDiscovery solutions assist organizations in meeting industry compliance requirements. They will also offer various ways to quickly access information in the event of audits or investigations that help mitigate risks.

3. Efficient Information Retrieval

Finding an exact message or file in an ocean of endless archives is not simple. But leading eDiscovery platforms make this easier with robust search capabilities. Patrons may sort results by date, contributor (i.e., participant), or keyword. Such a capability is time and effort saving, particularly during the process of legal reviews or internal probes.

4. Supporting Internal Investigations

Occasionally, organizations need to conduct internal reviews to address disputes or to investigate issues. This allows eDiscovery tools to collect relevant messages without hanging up operations along the way. Those platforms let stakeholders access and analyze data quickly. This method allows for transparency and assists in trusting individuals on a team.

5. Data Security and Privacy

Safeguarding of sensitive information continues to be an issue for every organization. Data protection features offered by online eDiscovery solutions are solid. Access is limited to authorized users only via strict permissioning and encryption features. Constant security updates protect the data from exposure or cyber threats.

6. Streamlined Workflow Integration

Modern eDiscovery tools integrate seamlessly into the platforms we already use to communicate. It means organizations are able to manage records without needing to revamp their favorite work processes. Automated archive and export options will eliminate the need for additional manual effort. That means teams can get on with their work, knowing that all their communications are comprehensively handled.

7. Facilitating Regulatory Audits

Compliance checks often involve the need for records from government agencies. Good eDiscovery solutions ensure that accessing these records is fast and simple. Documentation and audit trails ensure transparency of the process in the case of reviews. Organizations can show to their stakeholders that they respect legal and ethical standards.

8. Cost and Resource Savings

Searching for data manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. eDiscovery tools automate most of this process, allowing for lower labor costs and increased accuracy. Through reducing the time that goes into information retrieval, employees could spend more time on their main tasks, doing what they are actually hired for. This efficiency is ideal for both productivity and morale.

9. Adapting to Change

Organizations need to be agile because the business landscape shifts rapidly. With eDiscovery platforms, adapting to new regulations or changes to internal policies can be accomplished with little disruption. The flexible settings and customizable features ensure these solutions can meet today and tomorrow's needs.

10. Strengthening Organizational Reputation

Managing electronic records properly shows an intention to behave responsibly and accountably. Such good eDiscovery practices provide reassurance to clients, partners, and regulators. The professional reputation is greater among organizations that protect sensitive data and respond to inquiries promptly. The trust created this way facilitates long-term stability and growth.

Conclusion

Why top eDiscovery tools for messaging platforms are no longer optional. They are a key component for contemporary businesses. These solutions have helped drive compliance, security, and productivity. With the support of modern eDiscovery technology, organizations can protect their information/assets, manage risks, and build an environment of accountability. In a world that is predominantly digital, these tools can lay the groundwork for operational excellence and trust that lasts over time.