Multiple Toronto-area police services have added facial recognition technology to their arsenal of crime-fighting strategies, and the news is already not going over well with locals, prompting fears of "full-blown government overwatch and control."

York Regional Police and Peel Regional Police released a joint statement on Monday explaining how they are now using the tool to scour through photos from crime scenes and compare the people in them to existing mugshots.

Even though a few people have pointed out this relatively limited scope of the use of facial recognition, there are still quite a few netizens who are already getting spooked by the idea and the perceived invasion of their privacy.

This is dystopian

— Milhouse Van Houten (@MilhousHouten) May 28, 2024

Along with everyday people, groups like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have also expressed some concerns on the subject, citing potential violations of citizens' right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, as well as potential mistakes and inaccuracies in IDing suspects.

Researchers have raised alarm bells in the past about racial and other biases that facial recognition can have, with some saying the tech, in the way it presently exists, "can be racist, sexist and creepy."

Among these more serious worries, there is also the fact that, as many are noting on social media, the software is pretty darn useless if people are wearing masks or otherwise covering their face while committing a crime — which is not at all uncommon, especially in a post-COVID world.

How does that help with hoodies glasses and a mask on?? https://t.co/rmdOeVS61n

— YouGotThis (@YouGotT25656772) May 29, 2024

"Facial recognition technology allows police to compare obtained images of people identified by investigators as suspects or persons of interest with mugshots in an existing police database pursuant to the Identification of Criminals Act," the forces wrote in their release, adding that they've conducted extensive research into best practices for the tech.

"Images are not gathered or obtained by police from any live CCTV footage or any other live-streaming material including social media — they are collected during the course of an investigation, following a criminal incident."