Smarter Recognition - What is AFR? | AFR

We are searching for people in a far smarter way than ever before,
protecting the most vulnerable and bringing offenders to justice.

The Truths
Who We Are Looking For
How Accurate Is AFR?
FAQ's

The Truths

Public misconceptions about AFR remains high, but the facts speak for themselves.

OVER 450 ARRESTS IN THE PAST 14 MONTHS

AFR ‘Identify’ allows officers to load images of persons of interest and compare them against our 500,000 custody images to see if there is a possible match on identification.

AFR ‘Locate’ is a real time solution which utilises live feeds from CCTV typed cameras based either at specific, fixed locations or cameras secured to the top of one of our vehicle fleet to locate persons on prescribed watch lists.

WALES VS ITALY

During the Wales Vs Italy Six Nations rugby test match in 2018 the University Police Science Institute based at Cardiff University and South Wales Police tested the accuracy of the AFR Locate deployment in Cardiff City Centre. The trial involved 7 volunteers walking past the AFR cameras on multiple occasions with various walking styles and head garments.

The system detected these individuals in excess of 76 percent of occasions that they walked past the camera. This was for a false alert rate of 1 in 2,251 faces seen (see more on how to measure the accuracy of an AFR Locate deployment below.)

As you would expect props worn by the volunteers in particular hats and glasses that obscured the face impacted on the system being able to detect the individual.

In summary the system had an extremely impressive accuracy rate combined with a low incorrect alert rate.

Learn More

Who We Are Looking For

The system works by means of a pre-populated Watchlist which will contain information and images of subjects and a pre-defined response should these subjects be located by the system.

Watchlists will be both proportionate and necessary for each deployment with the rationale for inclusion detailed pre-event in the AFR Locate deployment report.

Primary factors for consideration for inclusion within a watchlist will be watchlist size, image quality, image provenance and rationale for inclusion.

A Deployment Report must be completed prior and finalised post deployment, this document will summarise the intelligence profile for an event, detail the rationale for deployment as well as rationale for watchlist composition. This document should also be used to capture lessons learnt from each deployment.

How Accurate Is AFR?

To date no individual has been incorrectly arrested as a result of an AFR deployment with no formal complaint made against its use.

CONFIGURABLE ALERT RATES

An alert will be received based on a threshold setting (sensitivity setting) of the system, i.e. how similar is this person to the person you are looking for - configurable by watchlist and by individual.

1/2

The higher the settings - the less incorrect alerts

2/2

The lower the setting - the more incorrect alerts

0 FALSE ARRESTS

The accuracy of a AFR Locate deployment can be measured by how many individuals located in your watchlist that are seen by the system in turn do not lead to an alert (i.e. walk past the camera without the operators being alerted) for any false positive rate. Please see resources section for the Layman's Guide to the accuracy of an AFR Locate deployment.

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