NCJ Number
210834
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 36,38,44
Date Published
July 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article describes the technology used to compare pictures taken of subjects by officers in the field with a biometric database of arrestees/offenders and wanted persons.
Abstract
Facial recognition technology creates a faceprint, which is a digital rendering of the human face. A faceprint can be compared to other faceprints taken from devices such as mugshot cameras, mobile ID units, digital cameras, photographic prints, surveillance cameras, and other image sources. This article first describes how a faceprint captures distinctive facial features, including skin texture, which are unique to each individual. This is followed by a description of the process for comparing faceprints made by officers in the field with a biometric database of faceprints. The Neven Visions' Mobile Identifier is profiled as an example of new video capture technology. This device is an integrated camera that produces a 1-second to 2-second video sequence of a suspect's face. The engine analyzes the image sequence on the video screen and compares the face prints to faceprints contained in the onboard database for possible matches. The nine most similar matches are displayed on a color touchscreen. A side-by-side image comparison of the image taken by the officer and each of the displayed images is then conducted by the field officer. The officer makes the final determination of the person's identity and is provided with background information on the subject. The article concludes with a discussion of the advantages of using facial-recognition technology in the field for identification compared to fingerprint identification. These advantages include generally faster return of results, less invasiveness, and increased officer safety by not having to be close to the suspect in the identification process.