Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Boston Police Chief: Facial Recognition Tech Didn't Help Find Bombing Suspects

Posted by samzenpus on from the standing-out-in-a-crowd dept.

SternisheFan writes "ArsTechnica reports: 'While the whole country is relieved that this past week's Boston Marathon bombing ordeal and subsequent lockdown of the city is finally over, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told the Washington Post that the department's facial recognition system "did not identify" the two bombing suspects. "The technology came up empty even though both Tsarnaevs' images exist in official databases: Dzhokhar had a Massachusetts driver's license; the brothers had legally immigrated; and Tamerlan had been the subject of some FBI investigation," the Post reported on Saturday. Facial recognition systems can have limited utility when a grainy, low-resolution image captured at a distance from a cellphone camera or surveillance video is compared with a known, high-quality image. Meanwhile, the FBI is expected to release a large-scale facial recognition apparatus "next year for members of the Western Identification Network, a consortium of police agencies in California and eight other Western states," according to the San Jose Mercury News. Still, video surveillance did prove extremely useful in pinpointing the suspects.'"

7 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Enhance it and zoom in by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Rinse and repeat

    1. Re:Enhance it and zoom in by kevingolding2001 · · Score: 5, Funny
      Don't forget the 'uncrop'

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUFkb0d1kbU

    2. Re:Enhance it and zoom in by sycodon · · Score: 4, Funny

      It should be noted that the old facial recognition software worked just fine. It was the fancy new computer based facial recognition software that failed.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    3. Re:Enhance it and zoom in by Ksevio · · Score: 3, Funny

      Did the software beep enough? It needs to beep for each magnitude you zoom in.

      Best if every face scanned is shown on screen next to the original and beep.

  2. Re:Wasn't It As Much Individual Photog & ID? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Such things are always handled much more efficiently by the private market. If we had single payer, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would be going to the doctor every time they got a sniffle and the bill would be Trillions. If you are successful and smart you will go to the doctor only when you need to, and you will be able to pay with cash you have earned previously. I maintain my own insurance and everyone else should do the same.

  3. Re:Maybe next time by MiniMike · · Score: 3, Funny

    I dunno, I ran Picasa on my pr0n dir, and it gets all the Czech models mixed up all the time.

    There's your problem- you're using face recognition. Looks like there's a need for an extension so the recognition software can look further south...

  4. Re:CRAFT INTERNATIONAL by ubrgeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    > Horsehoes don't really exist.

    Sure they do. They just charge more by the hour and it's tough to get a hotel room that will let them in.

    --
    Bark less. Wag more.