'Game changing' facial recognition technology is now being used by EPS

Edmonton police say they have already been able to see the benefits of the facial recognition technology they recently began to use.

NeoFace Reveal, made by the NEC Corporation of America, is “game changing” and used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the world, according to EPS. The software uses biometrics to identify people using points on their face.

The facial recognition solution will be used to help identify people involved in criminal activities and to identify people taken into custody who “may provide false information about their identity,” added an EPS superintendent.

“We will not be applying the solution over live CCTV feeds or over live social media platforms for surveillance purposes,” added Warren Driechel, superintendent of the Information Technology Division of EPS.

“Think of facial recognition the same way you think of fingerprinting, we maintain a database of fingerprints and when a fingerprint is found at the scene of a crime, it can be compared against the other fingerprints in that database to check for a match. The facial recognition solution we are using works that same way.”

Only specific trained technicians will be able to use this technology, according to Devin Laforce, superintendent of the Research and Development Division of EPS.

Officers will be able to submit pictures to these technicians, who will run them through the database of mug shots EPS and Calgary police share.

“Nothing is concluded by facial recognition technology on its own, no identification is made and there is no power of arrest,” said Laforce. “A technician confirms the match and further investigative steps are required by police before anyone can be arrested and charged.”

This technology helped officers identify three people they said were involved in an aggravated assault case in October 2021. This led to those three people being arrested and charged.

“We are confident that this facial recognition tool will keep our communities safe and secure, progress our criminal investigations in ways we couldn’t without it and that we continue to protect rights and privacy,“ said Laforce.

“We have looked into the privacy implications of the solution, to ensure any data collected is done so in compliance with FOIP legislation and the Identification of Criminals Act,” added Driechel. “We have also submitted a privacy impact assessment to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.”