Facial Recognition Tech Pinpoints Suspect in Cold Case
September 12, 2014
A criminal hiding in a foreign land for over a decade may begin to feel sure he has escaped the long arm of U.S. law. Today’s technology, however, has rendered that sense of security false for at least one wanted suspect. We learn from NakedSecurity that “Facial Recognition Software Leads to Arrest After 14-Year Manhunt.”
Neil Stammer, of New Mexico, was charged with some very serious offenses back in 1999, but escaped while out on bond. Writer Lisa Vaas reports:
“The case went cold until January 2014, when FBI Special Agent Russ Wilson was assigned the job of fugitive coordinator in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wilson created a new wanted poster for Stammer and posted it onto FBI.gov in hopes of generating tips.
“A special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) – a branch of the US Department of State whose mission includes protecting US Embassies and maintaining the integrity of US visa and passport travel documents – was testing new facial recognition software designed to uncover passport fraud when he decided, ‘on a whim,’ to use the software on FBI wanted posters.
“A match showed up between Stammer’s wanted poster and a passport photo issued under a different name. Suspecting fraud, the DSS agent contacted the FBI. The tip soon led Wilson to Nepal, where Stammer was living under the name Kevin Hodges and regularly visiting the US Embassy there to renew his tourist visa.”
Apparently, Stammer/Hodges had gotten comfortable in Nepal, teaching English. An FBI agent observed that the suspect seemed quite surprised when a joint operation with the Nepalese government led to his location and arrest.
Though the facial-recognition search that produced this arrest was performed “on a whim,” local and federal law-enforcement agencies across the country are using or considering such software. Vaas emphasizes that these implementations are being made in the absence of any standardized best practices, though some are currently being crafted by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration.
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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