TL;DR: New Orleans is the first US city with live facial recognition surveillance. But the government doesn't run it: a private nonprofit called Project NOLA does. They operate 200 face-scanning cameras and send real-time tips to police. There's no warrant requirement, no government oversight, and no public vote. The system scans against a watchlist of about 250 people and gets "hundreds of hits" on busy days. The police chief paused cooperation in April 2025, calling it a legal gray zone. The cameras keep running anyway.
The First US City With Live Facial Recognition
Walk past certain cameras in New Orleans and your face gets scanned in real time. If you match someone on a watchlist, an alert fires. Staff review the match. Police get a tip.
This isn't a government program. It's run by Project NOLA, a private nonprofit founded in 2009 by Bryan Lagarde, a former New Orleans police officer [1].
The numbers tell the story:
- 5,000+ cameras in the network total
- 200 cameras with live facial recognition
- ~250 people on "hot lists"
- Hundreds of hits on busy days
Lagarde calls it "a wonderful force multiplier." Critics call it a constitutional shell game.
How It Works
Private property owners (bars, businesses, residences) install cameras connected to Project NOLA's network. About 200 of those cameras run live facial recognition software that continuously scans faces against watchlists.
When the system finds a match, Project NOLA staff get an automated alert. They review the hit. If it looks valid, they tip off police.
Who's on the watchlists? According to NPR's investigation [1]:
- People wanted by federal, state, or local agencies
- Individuals Lagarde has flagged for "apparent felony-level criminal involvement"
- People "documented selling drugs, armed, or involved in gang activity"
Notice the problem? One category is "wanted by law enforcement." The others are whoever Lagarde decides belongs there. A private citizen building a surveillance watchlist based on his own judgment.
The Legal Shell Game
Here's the trick: by running surveillance through a private nonprofit instead of the police department, Project NOLA sidesteps government oversight requirements.
Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington, told NPR the setup looks like a "shell game" for legal responsibility [1]. If surveillance is done "by the community" rather than "official actors," it might circumvent constitutional protections.
The Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Jones that police need probable cause and a warrant to continuously track someone using technology. But that applies to government actors. What about a nonprofit that just happens to share tips with police?
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick sees the problem: "You cannot control your privacy concerns through private enterprise."
The ACLU's Sarah Whittington puts it more bluntly: local law "did allow for facial recognition, but did not allow for this type of live facial recognition from a third-party entity" [1].
The Police Chief Hit Pause
In April 2025, Superintendent Kirkpatrick paused police cooperation with Project NOLA pending legal clarification. She wants clear guidelines before officers act on the tips.
But here's the thing: the cameras keep running. Project NOLA doesn't need police permission to operate. They're a private organization on private property. Kirkpatrick can refuse to act on their tips, but she can't turn off their surveillance.
Meanwhile, the city hasn't formalized rules or reporting requirements. Proposed legislation stalled. The legal gray zone persists.
Inside a Bar With Face-Scanning Cameras
Tim Blake owns the Three Legged Dog bar in the French Quarter. He hosts one of Project NOLA's live facial recognition cameras over his front door. Inside, another camera equipped with thermal vision can spot hidden guns [1].
He was an early adopter. To Blake, it's about safety. His bar, his property, his choice.
But customers walking in don't get a choice. They don't know the camera above the door is comparing their face to a watchlist in real time. They don't know a nonprofit is deciding whether to tip off police about them.
Multiply that by 200 cameras across the city. That's the network.
The Privatization of Surveillance
New Orleans isn't the first city with extensive camera networks. It's not even the first with facial recognition. But it appears to be the first with a private live facial recognition system feeding real-time tips to police.
This model solves a problem for law enforcement. Government facial recognition programs face public backlash, legal challenges, and ban campaigns. Multiple US cities have banned government use of facial recognition.
But a private nonprofit? Different rules. No public records requests. No city council votes. No Fourth Amendment constraints on the organization itself.
Project NOLA claims it sets its own "guardrails." Lagarde decides who goes on the watchlist. Lagarde decides what counts as suspicious. Lagarde decides when to alert police.
The government outsourced surveillance to someone who can't be voted out.
What You Can Do
If You're in New Orleans
• Assume public areas may have facial recognition
• Face coverings and sunglasses reduce accuracy
• Contact city council members about oversight
• Support local ACLU chapters challenging the system
Watch Your Own City
• This model can spread anywhere
• Check if private camera networks exist locally
• Ask if police receive tips from private surveillance
• Push for transparency requirements
Understand the Pattern
• Ring partners with police
• Flock Safety shares with 5,000+ departments
• Private surveillance feeding public enforcement is the trend
The Bottom Line
New Orleans shows where surveillance is heading. When cities ban government facial recognition, private operators fill the gap. When courts restrict police, nonprofits do the scanning and share the tips.
Bryan Lagarde built a surveillance network because he could. He runs it because nobody stopped him. Police get the benefits without the legal constraints.
The cameras are watching. The face-matching is running. And the public never got a vote.