Essex Police reveal impressive accuracy of LFR from Corsight, Digital Barriers

England’s Essex Police have performed 383,356 match attempts with live facial recognition software from Corsight AI and Digital Barriers, with a single incorrect alert from a false match.

The force reveals details of its use of LFR in a transparency report listing the results of 38 completed deployments. The first was in October of 2023, the last two are from January and February of this year, and the remaining 35 are between August and the end of 2024. The notice also informs the public of a deployment at Harlow on February 11, and another upcoming on February 16 at Southend.

Essex Police used different watchlists for different deployments, with a combined total 1,322 identities to compare the faces of people in public against. Sixty-one alerts were generated over all of the deployments, and all but one were correct matches, according to the report, resulting in 57 “interventions” and 11 arrests, including for assault and sexual assault.

The deployment in which the false match was observed included nearly 40,000 scans.

The overall accuracy of the biometric matches so far is 99.9997 percent, which Corsight says reinforces the dependability of the technology in dynamic policing scenarios.

“Accuracy is not just about the strength of the algorithm but also a matter of settings,” notes Corsight AI President Rob Watts. “Mall of America, for example, has 40 million visitors a year. They want to receive alerts only if an individual is identified with a very high level of certainty, otherwise, security would have to handle a lot of noise. On the other hand, police pursuing an armed murderer would want to examine any relevant footage, even if the algorithm is only 90 percent sure the target is identified.”

The Met Police Director claimed last July that its live facial recognition deployments were beating that force’s accuracy expectations.

A release from Corsight notes that Essex Police use facial recognition with cameras on dedicated police vans, rather than fixed CCTV cameras owned by municipal authorities.

Corsight AI Chief Privacy Officer and former UK Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter tells Biometric Update in an email that the success is attributable to the software’s tolerance of challenging conditions for biometric matching, such as low lighting and step angles. He also notes that the Persons of Interest database used is comprised of suspects from the area, which enhances accuracy.

The transparency report also provides details on data retention and deletion.

“It is a privilege for Corsight AI to contribute to the safety and security of the law-abiding people of Essex,” says Porter. “Drawing on our vast experience with law enforcement agencies worldwide, Essex Police adhere to the highest standards of fair use and transparency.”

 

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Article Topics

accuracy  |  biometric matching  |  biometrics  |  Corsight  |  Digital Barriers  |  Essex Police  |  facial recognition  |  police  |  real-time biometrics  |  UK