FBI develops facial recognition system

Sept. 17, 2014
Interstate Photo System part of bureau’s Next Generation Identification system

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday announced that its Next Generation Identification (NGI) system has achieved full operational capabilities, which includes a facial recognition component.

According to a statement, the Interstate Photo System (IPS) facial recognition service provides law enforcement agencies across the country with the ability to search images associated with criminal identities. The FBI said that the IPS is a “significant step forward” for law enforcement as it pertains to using biometrics as an investigations tool.

Additionally, this latest phase is just one portion of the bureau’s NGI system that was initiated in early 2011 and has thus far included the development of enhanced automated fingerprint and latent search capabilities, mobile fingerprint identification, as well as electronic image storage.

For more information, click here to read the full release from the FBI.