FBI to activate face recognition software
To help police catch wanted criminals :
US: A nationwide face recognition service is to be activated in some
US states by the FBI which will allow local police to identify
suspects.The program, part of a $1 billion overhaul of the FBI’s
existing fingerprint database, will begin by mid-January and will allow
police to pinpoint wanted criminals more quickly and accurately,
Other biometric markers such as iris scans and voice recordings will
also be implemented into the revamped database, it has been
reported.Police scanner:
It is hoped the face recognition software will help law enforcement
pinpoint wanted criminals more quickly and accurately
Police scanner: It is hoped the face recognition software will help
law enforcement pinpoint wanted criminals more quickly and
accuratelyBureau officials told Nextgov that the new face recognition
feature could help provide the ‘missing link’ for police for unsolved
cases.
Nick Megna, from the FBI’s criminal justice information services
division, said: ‘[Law enforcement authorities] have a photo of a person
and for whatever reason they just don’t know who it is [but they know]
this is clearly the missing link to our case.’Currently, FBI agents need
to have the name of an individual to find a suspect’s mugshot within the
10 million images stored in the bureau’s Integrated Fingerprint
Identification System.
Big Brother: The FBI, whose Washington headquarters are pictured
here, have been accused of using local police to create a ‘massive
surveillance system .’ The next generation identification system will
allow analysts to upload a photograph and, depending on the number of
results, could be given a list of potential matches within 15 minutes.
The service is to be trialled in Michigan, Washington, Florida and North
Carolina this winter before it is offered to other justice professionals
across the country in 2014.Caption-Police scanner: It is hoped the face
recognition software will help law enforcement pinpoint wanted criminals
more quickly and accurately
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