Scammers, shoplifters, robbers, killers – How much easier is it for them to hide from cameras that recognize faces, covered with bandages that protect the area of the mouth and nose? Hiding their faces, the criminals pulled anything over their heads, from tights, carnival masks or helmets. Do the protective masks introduced during the pandemic help them hide from justice?
Of course, everyday protective masks, introduced to combat the pandemic, make it difficult to recognize the faces of criminals or suspects, says Bernhard Egger, head of the Bavarian Criminal Police Directorate (LKA). But this does not mean that the wearer of the mask is absolutely impossible to identify.
In face recognition, the overall quality of the graphics available is important, explains Egger. The distance between the camera and the person being photographed, for example, or the resolution of the photo. But most important is the area around the eyes. “Of course: the better the quality of the photo, the more likely the criminal will be identified,” the expert continues. Computer software has improved markedly in recent years and new opportunities have emerged. So we have photographs of masked people, which were able to identify the criminals.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Wiesbaden, tens of thousands of searches are carried out every year using facial recognition. More than 2,100 people were found this way last year. If police officers have a photograph of a suspect in a crime, it is compared to the millions of images stored in a database. The work is carried out according to a special algorithm.
Of course, protective masks make it difficult to identify suspects, “however, surveillance cameras usually allow other functions for identifying people,” experts say. Factors such as body shape, height, clothing, footwear, direction of escape and possible accomplices contribute to recognition.
Germany says this:
Germany: Three Factors Increasing Risk of Complications from Covid-19 in Young People
Germany: Federal government declares Vienna a risk zone
Germany: Shorter working hours allowance to be paid in 2021
Germany: Nursing staff in hospitals will finally receive the promised crown bonus