Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

British cops nab shoplifter with facial recognition tech

David Nield
By

british cops nab shoplifter facial recognition tech camera
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It’s another reason to wear a mask the next time you’re up to no good: British police officers have picked up a suspected shoplifter after using state-of-the-art facial recognition software to identify him. The individual concerned was singled out because of a strong resemblance to his father and brother, two criminals already on the police’s database.

Law enforcers in Leicestershire told the Register that the software — called NeoFace — was being trialled for a period of six months. Police in London and other European countries are also interested in adopting the technology if the initial tests can prove its usefulness. It works by comparing faces captured by CCTV and still images to a database of known offenders.

Recommended Videos

At the moment, finding a match through NeoFace is not enough to convict anyone of a crime, but it can be employed to open up new lines of enquiry and organize identity parades. A clear front-facing mugshot image is required for NeoFace to work with, though its operators admit that it’s “more of an art than it is a science” in its current form.

Related

Leicestershire police say NeoFace has been used in over 200 cases so far. Spokesman Dave Harper explained: “The officer came in with CCTV images of a shoplifting suspect he didn’t recognize. We ran his image through the facial recognition system and his father and brother both popped up, because the family all have strong and shared facial characteristics.”

The same software has also been used in parts of the United States. A armed robbery suspect in Chicago was identified through the use of NeoFace last month and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Amid concerns that the system could be used indiscriminately, Chicago Police Commander Jonathan Lewin said that “there will absolutely be no random surveillance — and facial recognition — of subjects in the public way.”

[Image: Vasin Lee / Shutterstock]

Editors' Recommendations

David Nield
David Nield
Contributor
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
How to delete your Spotify account on desktop and mobile
An iPhone with the Stats for Spotify screen on it being held in a hand.

Spotify is home to a bountiful trove of music. With over 615 million users connected to the platform, it’s no wonder it’s one of the biggest music-streaming platforms in town. Still, sometimes we need to put aside a little extra pocket change every month. And one of the first things to go are monthly subscriptions. We know it stinks, but this doesn’t mean your Spotify account needs to disappear forever.

Read more
The best tablets in 2024: top 11 tablets you can buy now
Disney+ app on the iPad Air 5.

As much as we love having the best smartphones in our pockets, there are times when those small screens don't cut it and we just need a larger display. That's when you turn to a tablet, which is great for being productive on the go and can be a awesome way to unwind and relax too. While the tablet market really took off after the iPad, it has grown to be quite diverse with a huge variety of products — from great budget options to powerhouses for professionals.

We've tried out a lot of tablets here at Digital Trends, from the workhorses for pros to tablets that are made for kids and even seniors -- there's a tablet for every person and every budget. For most people, though, we think Apple's iPad Air is the best overall tablet — especially if you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem. But if you're not an Apple user, that's fine too; there are plenty of other great options that you'll find in this roundup.

Read more
How to delete a file from Google Drive on desktop and mobile
Google Drive in Chrome on a MacBook.

Google Drive is an excellent cloud storage solution that can be accessed from numerous devices. Whether you do most of your Google Drive uploading or downloading from a PC, Chromebook, or mobile device, there’s going to come a time when you’ll need to delete a file (or two). Fortunately, the deletion process couldn’t be more straightforward. We’ve also put together this helpful guide to show you how to trash your Drive content a couple of different ways.

Read more