SA Police (SAPOL) has awarded a $780,000 contract to NEC Australia for facial recognition software which will position South Australia’s police force as one of the most technologically advanced in the nation.
The technology will enable SAPOL to search, scan and monitor images and video of suspects against offender databases, leading to the faster and more accurate identification of persons of interest.
The facial recognition technology can also enhance South Australia’s existing CCTV network in the future by extracting faces in real time and instantaneously matching them against a watch list of individuals. The technology will also be used in missing person cases.
The facial recognition technology will be widely utilised by SAPOL in the fight against crime by late October 2016.
The South Australian State Government made an election commitment to further strengthen the South Australian police force through introducing the use of more high-tech policing equipment.
The Government is building a modern, 21st Century police force, and equipping frontline officers with the tools they need to effectively protect our communities.
Investment in this state-of-the-art technology comes after the recent $16.1 million State Budget announcement that will deliver a record number of frontline police for South Australia.
Background
NEC Australia won a competitive tender process with their software considered to have the fastest and most accurate matching capability in the world.
The Northern Territory is the only other Australian jurisdiction employing this technology, along with other federal government agencies.
The latest State Budget brings the Police Budget to its highest level in history at $883 million, and will see the recruitment of more frontline officers than ever before.
Quotes attributable to Police Minister Peter Malinauskas
The world we live in is changing, and with that comes a need to change the way we police.
We are investing in ensuring our police have the tools and technology needed to most effectively protect our communities.
Technology has an increasingly vital role in policing, and as technology evolves into the future, so too will the way our police force operates.
Our police budget is at the highest level in history, with more frontline police soon to be on the beat than ever before. We want to see more South Australians taking up careers in policing within a police force that is well resourced, and among the most modern and dynamic in the nation.
Quotes attributable to Chief Operating Officer of NEC, Mike Barber
NEC is proud to be able to bring a world leading technology into use in South Australia to support Adelaide’s aim of becoming a leading Safe City.
Implementing NEC’s facial recognition technology will greatly assist in reducing the time officers spend on identity management activities and allows them to be back on the streets keeping the public safe.
The facial recognition technology is also able to assist police in solving cold cases, using old photography and images from previous cases.
NEC Australia’s in-country Research and Development team based in Melbourne is working closely with SA Police to develop applications using NEC’s world leading facial biometrics technology that meet the SA Police operational requirements.
NEC’s biometrics identifications technology, including fingerprint identification and facial recognition, is used in systems provided to over 70 countries across the globe.
