The purpose of this document is to recommend a simple set up for taking frontal face (mugshot) images. Different cameras will obviously produce different results but there are other important factors to take into consideration which can have a big impact on the effectiveness of facial recognition software.
These policies are intended to provide law enforcement agencies uniform guidance regarding their appropriate use of a facial recognition field identification tool. Nlets sponsored the preparation of its Privacy Impact Assessment Report for the Utilization of Facial Recognition Technologies to Identify Subjects in the Field to better describe the privacy issues surrounding law enforcement agencies’ utilization of facial recognition technologies in the field. These policies were generated in response to the discussions contained in that report.
A federal law passed in February 2012 to help middle class families by creating jobs and cutting payroll taxes included a section mandating the creation of a nationwide interoperable broadband communications system for law enforcement and first responders. The system, which is being created under the direction of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), seeks to create a nationwide broadband network capable of being used for a variety of law enforcement purposes including remote surveillance, mobile biometric applications like field fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, as well as automated license plate reading. The system is currently in a pilot phase with less than a dozen locations around the country participating in the initial rollout of the FirstNet network. However, comments from FirstNet board members indicate that the future goals of the system include an interoperable network operating in all 56 states and territories of the U.S. that is capable of integration at the state, local and federal level.
An update from July 2013 on the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) program discussing biometrics, facial recognition, and the Universal Face Workstation for identifying subjects through photo searches as well as the NGI Interstate Photo System (IPS) Initiative.