German police use Facebook to catch criminals
CBR Security
Aug 12, 2011
Facial recognition technology is being reportedly used by police in Britain to identify suspected vandals and looters in the riots.
A senior police chief told The Associated Press that the technology that is expected to be used for security in next year’s Olympic games, is alredy finding use to match photographs of suspects with those in the database.
Chief Constable Andy Trotter of the British Transport Police also added that the technology is only a smal part of the police force’s efforts which include: CC cameras, footage shot by police helicopters or those contributed by the public.
“There’s a mass of evidence out there,” Trotter told the AP.
“The public are so enraged that people who wouldn’t normally come forward are helping us — especially when they see their neighbors are coming back with brand new TVs.”
Meanwhile an AFP report said that German police officers in Hanover are using Facebook to catch criminals. Hanover police satrted an experiment six months’ ago, said the report.
They set up a Facebook account and apealed the public to help them catch criminals. Police say the move has already helped them crack six cases.
The “Polizei Hannover” Facebook account has 23,000 “friends” who act as informers, said police spokesman Stefan Wittke.
“With Facebook we can reach quite a different audience than that of newspapers or television. Seventy percent of our Facebook fans are aged under 35,” according to the police.
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