Revolutionary Facial Recognition Network Allows Police to Identify Suspects in Seconds

The Herald Sun reported that 260 police stations in Victoria, Australia, will use facial recognition technology to identify suspects.

Police officers will be able to load suspects' photos, computerized mug shots and security camera images on to the iFace image database to compare and match against more than 750,000 known suspects.

Investigators also will be able to enter descriptions, such as height, weight, hair color, age range, location and the nature of the crime, to generate a pool of possible suspects.

Obvious questions arise, such as what about false positives? Is the technology even suitable for this application? What about privacy concerns?

Security bloggers have weighed in on this application. For example, Laura Williams, a blogger for Security Products ponders, "Could the lure of 21st-century, instant-update crimefighting induce police to let the technology have the final say? Or do you think the inclusion of a 'confidence level' would be enough to keep a level head on a potentially over-enthusiastic officer?"

What do you think? Weigh in now!