Accenture used to be Arthur Anderson, Enron's accounting firm. It rebranded itself to focus on technology consulting, and has grown to be one of the most profitable firms in the world. It built the US-VISIT biometric database to collect info on foreign nationals, now “used primarily for furthering state surveillance.”
Last year, Accenture generated ~$7.4 billion from contracts specializing in IT services, particularly for police and militaries to build an "intelligent, smart border." It recently won a $380M Contract to Modernize IT for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Across federal and local contracts, the company specializes in "predictive policing," digitally transforming the justice system, and "reimagine the police workforce of the future." The North America Accenture CEO is on the board of the Atlanta Police Foundation. Accenture Tower in Chicago includes an Israeli consulate on the 31st floor.
Accenture works with the Defense industry to “ensure national security with combat and non-combat aircraft, including fixed wing, rotorcraft, and unmanned systems and engines” and the Maritime industry for “reinventing Naval shipbuilding including surface ships, submarines, and unmanned systems.”
In Israel, Accenture has a R&D lab to focus on cybersecurity. In 2016, Accenture acquired the Israeli cyberwarfare firm Maglan, “a team of highly skilled cybersecurity professionals, who honed their skills fighting cyber crime and confronting cyber espionage around the globe.”
In a 2022 interview with Accenture’s Chief Risk Officer, who also heads the Israel office, he said: “I see huge opportunities in Israel. Accenture is continuing to be in touch with our clients, learning from their challenges and opportunities and building our industry not just from our own research, but by learning from our clients. I think over the last two years with the pandemic we have learned how to handle crisis situations and now most of our clients internalized and learned from the experience… Accenture was one of the first companies to shut down operations with Russia when the conflict with Ukraine began. We are a very principled-based company. Our core values are what drive our behavior and we are socially responsible.”
$3 billion investment in its AI capabilities. 50% of Accenture’s AI analytics team is in India
In India, Accenture is working with police forces in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to predict crime.
Built IDENT system for US DHS, which offers face recognition and iris modalities. In India, Accenture Labs is “trying to do facial recognition to understand the mood of the crowd”.
Accenture program to help governments process and analyze massive amounts of CCTV data for “anomaly detection and complex behavioral analysis” Since April 2013, Accenture has deployed its Video Analytics Service Platform in Singapore to connect to dozens of CCTV cameras and apply computer vision and predictive analytics.
In India, Accenture is working to expand the use of drones for surveillance.
The government outsourced community demands to a group that profits from the existence and expansion of the very forces the community fought against in the first place. This is not just an expenditure; it's a call to action.
The Board of Supervisors did not negotiate this contract and can cancel it at any time. The Care First, Jails Last report names the need for community oversight. After three years of planning, it's time to translate promises into tangible results. Let's act on the community-based pretrial plan already in place.