TL;DR: New Orleans is the first American city with live facial recognition surveillance. But it's not run by the police. A private non-profit called Project NOLA operates 5,000+ cameras (200 with facial recognition), feeding real-time tips to law enforcement while avoiding government oversight rules. When cities ban facial recognition, surveillance just moves to private hands.
What Happened
In December 2025, NPR revealed that New Orleans has become the first American city known to have a live facial recognition surveillance network [1]. Walk down Bourbon Street and cameras are constantly scanning your face, comparing it to watchlists, and alerting monitors when there's a match.
The twist: it's not a government operation. Project NOLA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2009 by former police officer Bryan Lagarde, runs the entire system. Because it's private, they set their own rules. Because it's a non-profit, there's no government oversight.
Most people walking past have no idea they're being scanned. The system generates "hundreds of hits" on busy days, according to Lagarde. And the data flows directly to federal, state, and local law enforcement.
How Project NOLA Works
The Camera Network
Project NOLA operates as a clearinghouse for over 5,000 cameras mounted on private property throughout New Orleans [2]. Property owners volunteer to connect their cameras to the network and pay annual connection fees for the privilege.
The operation runs from headquarters on the University of New Orleans campus, where staff monitor feeds and process alerts around the clock.
Facial Recognition Capabilities
In 2022, Lagarde added live facial recognition to approximately 200 of the network's most advanced cameras. The system:
- Maintains roughly 250 "hot lists" of individuals
- Constantly scans faces in the French Quarter and beyond
- Triggers automated voice alerts when a face matches
- Claims to retain facial recognition data for only 30 days
Lagarde describes the capability: "We're able to process more needle-in-a-haystack requests and see very successful results a lot faster."
Data Flow to Police
Project NOLA shares information with federal, state, and local agencies in multiple ways:
- Solicited requests: Law enforcement can submit case numbers and request facial recognition searches
- Unsolicited tips: Project NOLA proactively sends alerts when they spot people NOPD is seeking
- Pattern analysis: They provide intelligence like drug sale frequency and locations
By 2023, the system had facilitated at least 34 arrests [3]. Police cannot directly access the camera interface or control cameras, but they get the results.
The Private Surveillance Loophole
Here's why Project NOLA matters beyond New Orleans: it demonstrates how to circumvent facial recognition regulations.
The City Ordinance Problem
New Orleans actually has facial recognition restrictions. The city ordinance:
- Limits law enforcement use to violent crime investigations
- Requires post-incident authorization with supervisory review
- Mandates logging and audit trails
But here's the catch: the ordinance governs government use of facial recognition. Project NOLA is private.
"That actually violated our local NOPD ordinance," said Sarah Whittington of the ACLU of Louisiana. The law "did allow for facial recognition, but did not allow for this type of live facial recognition from a third-party entity" [4].
When Police Paused
In April 2025, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick determined that cooperation with Project NOLA might violate city ordinance, and paused it. The Office of the Independent Police Monitor raised concerns that the system's integration with active investigations broke the rules.
But Project NOLA kept operating. The cameras kept scanning. The non-profit kept building its database. They just stopped sending tips to NOPD directly.
The Shell Game
University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo warned the arrangement resembles a "shell game" that could circumvent constitutional protections through private-sector intermediaries [1].
The Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Jones that police need probable cause and warrants for continuous technological tracking. But if a private non-profit does the tracking and just hands police the results? The constitutional protections may not apply.
Why This Matters
The Template for Circumvention
Project NOLA isn't just a New Orleans problem. It's a template.
Cities like San Francisco, Portland, and Boston have banned or restricted government use of facial recognition. But those bans don't touch private deployment. A Project NOLA-style non-profit could operate in any of those cities, scanning faces and sharing data with police who couldn't legally run the system themselves.
No Accountability
Private surveillance means:
- No public records: FOIA requests don't apply to non-profits
- No electoral accountability: You can't vote out Bryan Lagarde
- No audit requirements: Project NOLA sets its own "guardrails"
- No appeals process: If you're misidentified, there's no formal way to challenge it
Caitlin Seeley George of Fight for the Future put it bluntly: "Project NOLA should not exist. Neither a private citizen, nor law enforcement should have a tool that lets them constantly surveil people" [3].
The Immigration Threat
The ACLU expressed particular concern about federal access. In southern Louisiana, with increased immigration enforcement, a city-built surveillance system could be commandeered by ICE or other federal agencies [4].
Project NOLA already shares data with federal agencies. There's nothing stopping them from adding immigration enforcement to their tip-sharing arrangement.
Algorithmic Bias Without Recourse
Facial recognition systems consistently perform worse on darker-skinned individuals and women. When a government agency deploys biased technology, there are (theoretically) ways to challenge it. When a private non-profit does it:
- No requirement to disclose accuracy rates
- No transparency about watchlist composition
- No independent auditing
- No civil rights review process
What You Can Do
Immediate Actions
• Know that walking through the French Quarter means your face is being scanned
• Learn facial recognition countermeasures
• Support local ordinances that cover private-public surveillance partnerships
Long-term Protection
• Advocate for city ordinances that include private surveillance systems
• Support federal biometric privacy legislation like BIPA nationwide
• Push for FTC investigation of Project NOLA's practices
What's Coming
New Orleans city council introduced legislation to formalize police cooperation with third-party facial recognition providers, but it stalled. Some council members want to build a city-operated system instead, but others worry about losing control to federal agencies.
Meanwhile, Project NOLA keeps growing. The cameras keep scanning. And other cities are watching to see if the model works.
If a private non-profit can run live facial recognition in New Orleans, they can do it anywhere. The question isn't whether this template will spread. It's how fast.
The Bottom Line
Facial recognition bans don't work if they only apply to government. Project NOLA proves it. A private non-profit now runs America's first live facial recognition network, feeding tips to police while avoiding every regulation meant to protect the public.
The surveillance didn't stop. It just changed hands.
When we fight for facial recognition bans, we need to fight for bans that cover everyone: government, corporations, and non-profits alike. Otherwise, we're just playing the shell game they want us to play.