Police IT firm ABM has launched a bureau service to meet the demand for facial verification by the police, solicitors and courts.
Police IT firm ABM has launched a bureau service to meet the demand for facial verification by the police, solicitors and courts. The bureau service is offering court-standard forensic identification from photo comparisons in two to three weeks. Nottingham and Stirling-based ABM reports a massive expansion of CCTV material used in criminal courts. ABM has assisted in more than 200 cases over the last 10 years. Its team is headed by one of the UK?s experts in facial identity, Dr Leslie Bowie. Dr Bowie says: ?The massive increase in the use of CCTV means that the police, Crown Prosecution Service and others are very hard pressed in this area so we?ve set up a bureau service to give them an expert, independent, court-standard identification reports. A case can often stand or fall on whether a link between the visual evidence and the accused can be established.? The bureau service considers other visual evidence such as clothing, build and shoe size in its identification report. When necessary, ABM?s experts will appear in court and give evidence. The service includes: analysis of picture evidence: investigation of the best quality images to establish links between crime scene pictures and pictures of the suspect; comparison of facial features: alignment, scaling and viewpoint matching of images to determine either similarities or differences; height and build comparisons: comparison of the crime perpetrator to the suspect when evidence is available; shoe comparisons: shoe length comparison or shoe length estimate when picture evidence and relevant landmarks are available; clothing comparisons: similarities in colour, shape, style and any identifying markings can be made to establish links with clothing seized from the accused. Ring ABM?s Nottingham or Stirling offices (0115 946 4999 or 01786 446480 respectively). Visit www.abm-uk.com. ABM is a supplier of IT products and solutions for intelligence-led police and security applications. The Nottingham-based company reports that it serves 80 per cent of the UK?s police forces and 181 police forces in 16 other countries. Its customers include the UK?s National Criminal Intelligence Service.
