This article was published on July 16, 2014

UK police trialing facial recognition tech that can ID individuals in seconds


UK police trialing facial recognition tech that can ID individuals in seconds

Leicestershire Police will be the first force in the UK to conduct a six month trial of new facial recognition technology that promises to help identify individuals in just a few seconds.

Called NeoFace, the system can compare any digital image (like CCTV or footage from body-worn cameras) with photos held on a police database – in this case, Leicestershire’s database containing information about more than 90,000 people. By quickly comparing measurements of key facial features it can speed up the computerized but otherwise time-consuming process of finding a match, which can sometimes take “hours”, Leicestershire Police said.

Leicesterpolice

The force said it has already been considering it for evaluation for a couple of months already and that two hundred suspects have already been through the system. However, there is a slight drawback, the results can’t be used as evidence in court, although they’re useful to spur new lines of enquiry, the police said.

➤ New ‘face recognition’ technology helps to crack crime [Leicestershire Police]

Featured Image Credit – Shutterstock

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