NCJ Number
207819
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 52 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 82-84
Date Published
September 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (Florida) has developed a procedure for identifying uncooperative subjects in field stops who have no ID documents or refuse to provide them.
Abstract
New digital cameras are being installed in 50 of the department's 550 marked patrol cars to enable officers to photograph a subject on the scene of a stop, place the camera in a docking station in the patrol car, and conduct a face-recognition search through a wireless communication to an image database. This can give a name to the face and determine whether the subject had been previously arrested. The procedure can also provide other information on the subject that could be helpful to the officer in deciding how to handle the subject. Equipping the 50 patrol cars with this technology cost $250,000 and is being funded by a U.S. Justice Department grant. The facial-recognition technology that is being used is by Viisage, a Massachusetts-based company. The Viisage technology, called FaceEXPLORER, searches millions of images in seconds in order to determine whether there is a match to the photo sent from the field. The image galleries include not only portrait images but also related images such as profiles, tattoos, and distinguishing marks. The results of face-image searches are arranged in lineups according to facial-characteristic similarities, so as to assist the officer in reviewing and confirming the search results. Departmental policy requires that this technology only be used in traffic stops or other situations in which an arrest is possible and the subject refuses to provide identification.