UK bouncers to trial body cams with facial recognition

In Southampton, England, bouncers at seven different venues will wear cameras with facial recognition in a 3 month trial to combat crime and identify barred individuals, according to Daily Echo.

GO! Southampton, the city’s business improvement district, partnered with security firm Synergy Security to run the trial, which is the first in the UK. The trial will use Reveal’s digital evidence management system, DEMS 360, which is the same system used by roughly 70 percent of UK police.

This biometric system is an extension of the “red card” scheme of the Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP). The scheme links locations, so if a person is banned by one business, they are banned from all others as well.

The system will contain the information and images of banned offenders. Facial recognition is also expected to stop excluded individuals from gaining entry by using a fake ID, altering their appearance, or due to human error.

“When the camera recognises one of these offenders, the security staff will be signaled and then they can liaise with venue staff to turn the offender away and notify CCTV and local Police to deter them from reoffending,” explains GO! Southampton Operations Manager Jade McCauley.

“If a person is not recognised on the cameras, data will be instantly and permanently deleted from the system within microseconds as the camera will only be matching against the images of those currently banned, which represent 65 known offenders.”

The SBCP will have Jema Paull from Synergy Security give students and residents a demonstration along with a Q and A session on November 3 before the trial starts. Space is limited, so those interested in attending should email sbcp@gosouthampton.co.uk.

Reveal is also promoting the benefits of using their body cams for firefighters and paramedics. Firefighters can use footage to improve situational awareness, provide transparency, and enhance training and best practices, states the company website.

Paramedics can use cameras for de-escalation, securing the safety of lone workers, and for the placement of risk markers. The company has also trialed body cams for referees’ safety at games hosted by the Football Association.

UK police, meanwhile, are being asked to increase their use of facial recognition.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  body cam  |  facial recognition  |  Reveal  |  UK  |  video surveillance