NCJ Number
212702
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 53 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 100-106
Date Published
October 2005
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the use of facial recognition technology by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Abstract
Facial recognition technology makes use of unalterable features of a face, such as the distance between the centers of the pupils of the eye. An algorithm is then used which converts the image to numbers. The software program compares the digital photograph of a face with others in the database and brings up matches in gallery format, with the most likely match first. Viisage of Billerica, MA, developed software specific to the needs of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) in Florida. Recently, PCSO installed the Mobile Identification System (MIS) software, as well as digital cameras and docking stations in 50 of its 600 cruisers which began in 2004. This article discusses how the PCSO is currently using the MIS; the cost, financing, and equipment involved in the use of the MIS; training in the use of the MIS; and obstacles and problems encountered in using the MIS. Since the MIS has been in place in the corrections environment, not a single person has been mistakenly released.