Facial recognition technology uses biometrics to map facial features from a photograph or a video. It compares the information with a database of known faces to find a match.
Facial recognition technology has the capability to resolve a large number of crimes. A few years ago, facial recognition was restricted to a few elite agencies. Thanks to the technology expansion, especially in Artificial intelligence, this technology is now available in open-source which makes it more affordable and accessible to the smaller law enforcement agencies with limited resources.
A flexible and simpler implementation called Keras AI, which is a component of Tensor flow Artificial Intelligence is a good choice for facial recognition. The images of mug shots or booking photos are calculated into mathematical numbers. For instance, the process measures the distance between cheekbones, forehead to chin, and so on, translating them into mathematical numbers. Furthermore, this method has been entrusted to the hands of patrol officers and criminal investigators, proven to be successful. In a time now where almost every residence or a building has ring cameras, it can be effective to match the pictures taken from cameras to the law enforcement photo database.
When a picture is uploaded to the system, even though the face is slightly tilted or distorted, it matches the original profile of the person in a matter of seconds. Even though the person in the image may be wearing any kind of accessory or changes to the physical characteristics including a beard or completely going bald, facial recognition will be able to easily match with the original person, provided it is already available in the database.
You can gain an understanding of the use of Facial Recognition in Law Enforcement and leverage your current resources to aid in the investigation for your agency by viewing our recent virtual event “Using Technology for Criminal Investigations”.
About WATI (West Advanced Technologies, Inc.)
WATI is an IT services and solutions firm focused on Cyber Security Solutions, IT Security Services, Risk Management, and Cloud Enablement, for public sector agencies and enterprises across diverse industries. With decades of experience and an evolved delivery model, we deliver specific solutions that enable business efficiencies to organizations.
