LONDON -- Facial-recognition technology being considered for London's 2012 Olympic Games is getting a workout in the wake of Britain's riots, a senior police chief told the Associated Press on Thursday, with officers feeding photographs of suspects through Scotland Yard's newly updated program.
Chief Constable Andy Trotter, who is helping London police in the wake of the riots, said the department's sophisticated software was being used to help find those suspected of being involved in the unrest.
But he cautioned that facial recognition makes up only a fraction of the police force's efforts, saying tips have mostly come from traditional sources, such as still images from cameras, photos gathered by officers, footage shot by police helicopters or images snapped by members of the public.
"There's a mass of evidence out there," Trotter said in a telephone interview. "The public are so enraged that people who wouldn't normally come forward are helping us."
The facial-recognition technology used by police treats the human face like a grid, measuring the distance between a person's nose, eyes, lips and other features.
A news officer with Scotland Yard -- who also spoke anonymously, in line with force policy -- said that generally, the technology would be used only to help identify those suspected of serious crimes, such as assault.
The police also have released two dozen photos and videos to the picture-sharing Web site Flickr, where they have already gathered more than 400,000 hits.
No comments:
Post a Comment