Security-tech firm Facewatch is launching a new feature that will use facial recognition to automatically alert police when “high-risk” offenders enter shops monitored by the company’s systems.
The ‘Facewatch Crime Management Platform’ is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK and is aimed at the most prolific offenders, targeting thieves and people who are abusive to shop staff in particular.
Those people will previously have had their facial-recognition data logged and flagged against Facewatch’s blacklist and, when they enter a store, their features will be recognised by the system and an automated alert sent out in real-time to police, allowing them to respond while the incident is ongoing – subject to available officer resources, naturally.
The roll-out is to take place this autumn, with Facewatch saying its facial-recognition system delivers 99.98% accuracy. Chief executive Nick Fisher, who also heads up Forecourt Eye, commented:
“We’re calling time on prolific repeat offending with a unique technical development that will warn police within an average of four seconds the moment the worst offenders are matched and flagged on our network.”
