The FBI’s new facial recognition system is now fully operational, the bureau announced Monday.
The Next Generation Identification System also will replace the FBI’s fingerprint identification system.
“The IPS facial recognition service will provide the nation’s law enforcement community with an investigative tool that provides an image-searching capability of photographs associated with criminal identities,” the FBI said in a press release. “This effort is a significant step forward for the criminal justice community in utilizing biometrics as an investigative enabler.”
The system has been criticized by civil rights groups who claim the people without criminal records are going to be turned into suspects.
The civil liberties group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, argues the system is an invasion of privacy.
“Law enforcement agencies, probation and parole officers, and other criminal justice entities will also greatly improve their effectiveness by being advised of subsequent criminal activity of persons under investigation or supervision,” EFF said in a press release. “The IPS [Interstate Photo System] facial recognition service will provide the nation’s law enforcement community with an investigative tool that provides an image-searching capability of photographs associated with criminal identities.”
