London Police using Facial Recognition Software Facewatch ID

As reported by Metro, online UK news website, the Facewatch ID app has been updated with 2,800 photographs that can be sorted by postcode.

Facewatch ID, an application that can be downloaded via the Apple App store, Android Google Plan and Blackberry App World, has been used by London Police to identify suspects, especially those involved during the London riots.

Londoners owning smartphones and tablets are encouraged to download the application. The Facewatch ID app is regularly updated and Londoners can browse the app every week as new images appear regularly. They can assist the police identify suspects involved in low-level crimes.

At present it has 2,800 photographs that can be sorted via postcode. Images taken from CCTV, after thoroughly investigated by the police following the riots that erupted last year, were already uploaded.

Through that, more than 3,000 people have appeared in court, considered suspects of riots in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Reading, Kent and Manchester.

In using the app, the viewer can just enter the local postcode into the smartphone or tablet and click or touch any of the unidentified images of suspects. If the suspect is known to the viewer, he or she can enter the name and address of the suspect, which will be transmitted to the police confidentially.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to help us fight crime and bring those who remain outstanding to justice,” as conveyed by Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, head of specialist crime and operations at Scotland Yard.

The Independent cited that, “the technology and its secure database system has also been made available by Facewatch to all UK police forces and officials say it will soon link to the Facewatch business crime reporting system, already available to businesses in London.”

Facewatch, the company behind the app, considered the application the company’s small way of contributing to make London a safer and more secure city, especially in the coming London Olympics.

Article Topics

facial recognition  |  law enforcement  |  smartphones