With about 400,000 residents, New Orleans (NOLA) is the most populous city in the State of Louisiana. The city is world-renowned for its jazz music, Creole an Cajun cuisines, and lively festivals like Mardi Gras.

The past several months, more than any time in history, have highlighted the evolving role of surveillance in law enforcement, public safety and security.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington are helping law enforcement groups find real-world uses for facial recognition technology. One specific example is “MIDO” or “Multiple Image Dataset Organizer,” which researchers believe could have helped law enforcement compile that mass amount of information and images that flooded in after the Boston Marathon bombings.  After the data is compiled, facial recognition technology could takes effect.

According to a new local law, businesses in White Plains, N.Y., are now required to record quality video of patrons and provide that recording to police on demand. The law was passed last week unanimously by the Common Council, requiring certain merchants to install and maintain digital video camera systems to view and record quality video of everyone who enters.

Cellphone carriers answered at least 1.1 million requests from law enforcement agencies seeking information on caller locations, text messages and other data for use in investigations last year, according to the carriers’ reports.

Tools for monitoring Americans online are increasingly accessible and affordable to authorities, especially as people continue to post publicly on social media.

The Justice Network's facial recognition system now allows about 500 law enforcement personnel in Pennsylvania to access facial recognition databases from both the criminal justice system and the Department of Transportation.

Local and Ohio state law enforcement have used facial recognition software several thousand times since June to match images of possible suspects and victims to pictures on Ohio drivers’ licenses, the state’s attorney general said Monday, The Associated Press reports.

More than half of the general U.S. public support any applications for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, such as drones.