What is AFR?

Facial recognition helps South Wales Police become smarter,
creating a safer and connected community.

Click here for information
on the Court of Appeal judgment

What Is AFR?
How AFR Works
Terminology
Deployments
FAQ's

Automated Facial Recognition is software that can automatically detect faces in an image or video and compare with a database of facial images.

Operationally it is used to:

MATCH REAL TIME CCTV TO A WATCH LIST OF PERSONS OF INTEREST AND ALERT WHEN DETECTED AND:
COMPARE A CRIME SCENE IMAGE (E.G. CCTV STILL) TO A LARGE DATABASE OF IMAGES SUCH AS A CUSTODY SET OF IMAGES.

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AFR can not be used to identify persons unless they are in a watchlist.

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We are able to deploy AFR at the biggest events across South Wales.

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AFR greatly assists us by allowing resources to be deployed elsewhere in protecting our communities.

How AFR Works

AFR is made up of two parts, Identify & Locate. Which work together to help search for people.

IDENTIFY

AFR Identify is ‘Slow-time’ application of AFR technology, comparing still images of unknown suspects and persons of interest , against a custody database of circa 500,000 people, and returning up to 200 results.

Prior to AFR Identify identification of a suspect typically took two weeks to achieve. The same result can now be achieved the same day.

THE PROCESS COMBINES CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND AN EXPERIENCED IDENTIFICATION OFFICER TO MAKE A POSSIBLE MATCH.
HAS BEEN USED TO ASSIST IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF HUNDREDS OF SUSPECTS ACROSS SOUTH WALES AND MORE RECENTLY ASSISTED IN IDENTIFYING THE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

LOCATE

AFR Locate is ‘Live-time’ deployment of AFR technology, which compares live camera feeds of faces against a predetermined watchlist in order to ‘locate’ persons of interest. This generates possible matches that are reviewed by the operator(s).

FACES THAT ARE NOT MATCHED AGAINST THE WATCHLIST ARE NOT REMEMBERED OR KEPT.
WATCHLISTS ARE UNIQUE FOR EACH DEPLOYMENT.
PEOPLE NOT FEATURED IN A WATCHLIST CAN’T BE IDENTIFIED.

Terminology

A specially trained person who has access to other features of the Application.

A notification triggered by the AFR Locate technology when a possible match is made. This alert is then displayed to the operator.

Image of person within watchlist.

An interactive and user configurable web interface providing at-a-glance information regarding the latest subjects matched and access to some of the configuration components of the product.

The number of faces that can be analysed by the technology per frame.

The number of frames that can be analysed by AFR technology per second. Frames per second in addition to faces per frame equals the faces that can be seen by the technology per second.

A match suggested by the AFR technology that is deemed incorrect by the operators.

The number of incorrect alerts within the total faces seen by the technology.

South Wales Police officer or staff member tasked with operating the AFR technology. Operators will not be able to see any saved Watch Lists unless an Alert is received.

This term includes people wanted on warrants and suspects for particular crimes. It can also potentially include missing persons and vulnerable people (e.g. dementia sufferers) and for intelligence purposes.

AFR Identify operator believes probe and candidate image are the same person.

The still image of a unknown person which is processed by the AFR technology.

Pan Tilt Zoom Camera is a camera that is capable of zooming, focussing and being turned around 360°.

Users may be assigned to one or more Roles. A Role is a package of permissions that grant access to features of the AFR application.

When conducting comparisons, the AFR technology scores possible matches on their similarity.

This is a fixed camera in a single location and is un-moveable by the Operator.

A Watchlist provides a mechanism for grouping subjects.

Deployments

UPCOMING DEPLOYMENT

No planned deployments at this time.

PAST DEPLOYMENTS

DATE	EVENT	ALERTS
22/01/2020	Slipknot	1	View full details
12/01/2020	Cardif City v Swansea City	0	View full details
27/10/2019	Swansea City v Cardiff City	0	View full details
28/09/2019	The Elvis Festival	0	View full details
27/09/2019	The Elvis Festival	0	View full details

All Deployments

FAQ's

A statement from South Wales Police regarding the Judicial Review outcome can be found in the Blog section of the website. Alternatively an FAQ regarding AFR and the judicial review can be found here: Judicial Review Appeal FAQ

Typical deployments would obtain images from South Wales Police and Gwent shared custody database.

If the system does not make a match your image is not retained.

All AFR Locate deployments are overt and prior to each deployment we will use social media to advertise the deployment, during the deployment signage will be used. All AFR vehicles are clearly marked.

The image will be deleted immediately post deployment and in any case within 24 hours.

No, avoidance of the AFR cameras in isolation does not in itself constitute grounds for search or arrest.

A police officer may want to speak with you to confirm your identity.

The officer will explain why you have been spoken to and where possible invite you to see the technology. You will also be provided a Privacy Notice (see resource) which will provide further information.

Having reviewed 18 months of deployments there is no evidence to support this claim (see resource).

Watchlists for use with Live Facial Recognition (AFR Locate) must be specific to an operation or to a defined policing objective. Must be based on the intelligence case, reviewed before each Deployment to ensure that all images meet the necessity and proportionality criteria for inclusion, and the make-up of the Watchlist should not be excessive for the purpose of the LFR Deployment. Watchlists are primarily made up of individuals suspected of committing a criminal offence, wanted on warrant, unlawfully at large or there are bail conditions or court order or other restriction that would be breached if they were at the location at the time of the Deployment. They can also include missing persons who have been deemed increased risk or include individuals to prevent a risk of harm to themselves or others. This term will be informed by the intelligence case, using LFR to facilitate their location is necessary to manage the risk of harm identified