A three-month trial that has seen bouncers wear body-worn cameras with facial recognition technology has been a ‘success’, organisers have said.
The trial was rolled out by the city’s business improvement district GO! Southampton last week with the aim of cutting down city centre crime.
The trial is the first of its type in the UK and so far has been a success according to Go! Southampton marketing manager Flo Bevis.
She wrote on social media: “Two days in and our trial scheme is already proving a successful use of facial recognition cameras in the night-time economy.
“It’s really exciting to see the potential benefits we can explore and learn about moving forward.
“On a personal level, knowing this trial is in place, makes me feel more comfortable, and more likely to go out, having the reassurance that venues are a safe place to enjoy.
“Well done Jade McCauley-Deehan [GO! Southampton’s operations manager] and the rest of the SBCP for all the hard work this been put into this.”
The system works by having security CCTV cameras recognise a well-known offender.
Security workers will then be signalled, and they can liaise with venue staff to turn the offender away and notify local police – in an attempt to deter them from reoffending.
The scheme was fully funded by Reveal Media – an established UK company supplying body-worn cameras to the police, retail partners, and healthcare professionals.
The company are currently the only supplier capable of incorporating live facial recognition technology within their cameras.
Go! Southampton has stated that if a person is not recognised on the security cameras, data will be instantly and permanently deleted from the system within microseconds.
The system currently holds data and information on 65 well-known offenders in Southampton.
It is expected to stop offenders from gaining entry through the use of fake IDs, attempts to change appearance or simple human error.
Source – Daily Echo