{"id":"AIBD-1219","title":"Cardiff University's evaluation relays a count of over 100 people charged after South Wales Police ran NeoFace AFR Identify searches","summary":"Cardiff University's evaluation relays a count of over 100 people charged after AFR Identify searches. With the newer algorithm, operators confirmed matches in 22% of 1,524 searches.","date_observed":"2018-09-01","date_basis":"source publication","date_precision":"month","benefit_status":"reported","source_collection":null,"source_entry":null,"account":"South Wales Police used NEC's NeoFace facial recognition in a Home Office-funded trial that began in 2017. In its Identify mode, staff searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people. The system returned up to 200 ranked results, and an operator decided whether any was a match. As a condition of the Home Office funding, Cardiff University was commissioned to evaluate the trial independently, and its report appeared in September 2018. The evaluators found that operators confirmed system matches in 107 of 612 searches with the first algorithm and 333 of 1,524 with the second. The report states that over 100 people were charged following use of AFR Identify between July 2017 and April 2018. It takes that figure from a board meeting presentation of 20 April 2018. The evaluators say that they did not obtain arrest and charge figures for the first algorithm. The report compares no investigations with and without the system.","category":"aggregate result","unexpected":false,"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace to compare a face in an image with a database of stored images and return possible matches with similarity scores. South Wales Police used its Identify mode to generate investigative leads from images of unidentified suspects.","system":"AFR Identify, using NEC's NeoFace facial recognition","model_version":"NEC S17 algorithm until October 2017, then the M20 algorithm","developer":"NEC","deployer":"South Wales Police","location":"South Wales, United Kingdom","domain":"Policing (suspect identification)","segment":null,"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","work_activities":["4.A.1.b.1","4.A.1.a.1"],"taxonomy_note":"People charged after identification from crime-scene images are read as a reduction in criminal activity. Most requests concerned theft.","registry_ids":{},"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"Operators confirmed system matches in 333 of 1,524 searches with the newer algorithm, and the report relays a count of over 100 people charged, with no comparison against investigations without the system."},{"group":"societal","depth":null,"reason":"The report gives no outcome for the charges and no count of crimes solved or prevented."}],"ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The evaluators counted operator-confirmed matches and compared the two algorithm versions, but they did not compare investigations with and without the system. Operators decide each match, and the quality of the submitted image shapes the result. The report says that NEC has not revealed how its algorithms calculate matches, and it does not say whether they learn from data."},"evidence":[{"kind":"report","citation":"Davies, Bethan, Martin Innes and Andrew Dawson. An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition. Universities' Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, September 2018. Wayback Machine copy of https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf.","title":"An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","date":"2018-09-01","written_by":"evaluator","quote":"Over 100 people charged following use of AFR Identify"},{"kind":"other","citation":"NEC. NeoFace Watch: High performance face recognition (product brochure), copy hosted by naffco.com.","title":"NeoFace Watch brochure","url":"https://www.naffco.com/downloads/pdf/neoface-watch-brochure.pdf","date":null,"written_by":"makers","quote":"NEC's face recognition relies on a modified Generalized Learning Vector Quantization (GLVQ) algorithm.","supports_benefit":false}],"replication":{"produced_by":["Staff in the Identify team searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people.","The system returned up to 200 results ranked by similarity score, and an operator chose any that might be a match.","NEC supplied an updated algorithm in October 2017, and the force improved how it took custody images."],"must_hold":["Submitted images must be of good enough quality, because the system rejected poor ones.","An operator must review each possible match, since the system only suggests matches.","Officers must treat results as intelligence that supports their own inquiries."],"echoes":[]},"paired_incident":null,"headline":"Over 100 people charged after South Wales *AFR Identify* searches","metric":"over 100 people were charged","comparator":null,"later":{"status":"persisted","date":null,"note":"The report counts outcomes to May 2018 as 675 possible matches to suspects, over 350 of which led to charging decisions.","quote":"AFR Identify outcomes to May 2018 indicate 675 'possible matches' to suspects have been generated by the system, with over 350 of these having led to charging decisions.","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf"},"learns_from_data":{"value":"shown","note":"NEC's NeoFace Watch brochure says that its face recognition relies on a modified Generalized Learning Vector Quantization algorithm, a supervised learning method. The brochure does not give the version that the force used, and the evaluation says that NEC has not revealed how its algorithms calculate matches.","quote":"NEC's face recognition relies on a modified Generalized Learning Vector Quantization (GLVQ) algorithm.","url":"https://www.naffco.com/downloads/pdf/neoface-watch-brochure.pdf"},"benefit_dimensions":["societal","functional"],"benefit_categories":["physical_health"],"scsp_example":"Crime reduction or prevention","size":{"reach":{"band":1,"fact":"One force, South Wales Police, ran the searches that led to the charges.","quote":"Over 100 people charged following use of AFR Identify","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","reason":null},"duration":{"band":3,"fact":"Staff used the newer algorithm for about five months, from late October 2017 to mid-March 2018.","quote":"In total, 1,524 submissions to AFR Identify were completed using the new algorithm between the 23rd October 2017 and the 19th March 2018.","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","reason":null},"distribution":{"band":null,"fact":null,"quote":null,"url":null,"reason":"The report counts matches and charges and compares no groups of people."},"frequency":{"band":5,"fact":"Staff ran 1,524 searches in under five months, about ten a day.","quote":"In total, 1,524 submissions to AFR Identify were completed using the new algorithm between the 23rd October 2017 and the 19th March 2018.","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","reason":null}},"value":null,"developer_country":"Japan","deployer_country":"United Kingdom","unrated_because":null,"brief_notes":null,"brief":null,"revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the report of Cardiff University's Universities' Police Science Institute.","source":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","editor":"AIBD"},{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Placed the benefit under its broad categories and recorded its reach, duration, distribution and frequency from its sources.","source":null,"editor":"AIBD"}],"confidence":"claimed","shade":"low","claim_status":"The evaluator's account","claim_basis":"Sources: the makers' other source and the evaluators' report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent source and no finding by an external body.","case_jurisdictions":["United Kingdom"],"profile":{"case_id":"AIBD-1219","catalog_version":"1.0.0","source_fingerprint":"4a17f1ca1475bfca02d83910134ffbff68112034b40243eb7c735300c1552400","collection_refs":[{"collection_id":"aibd","version":"2026-10-31"},{"collection_id":"viator","version":"2026-10-25"}],"source_ids":["AIBD-1219-source-0001","AIBD-1219-source-0002"],"families":{"strategic assessments":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"evaluations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"monetary observations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"institutional decisions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]}},"fields":{"actors[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"developer":"NEC","deployer":"South Wales Police"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["developer","deployer"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"actors[].ownership_control":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_contribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"category":"aggregate result","ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The evaluators counted operator-confirmed matches and compared the two algorithm versions, but they did not compare investigations with and without the system. Operators decide each match, and the quality of the submitted image shapes the result. The report says that NEC has not revealed how its algorithms calculate matches, and it does not say whether they learn from data."}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ai_role","category"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].alternatives":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].assessor_date":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].depth":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"Operators confirmed system matches in 333 of 1,524 searches with the newer algorithm, and the report relays a count of over 100 people charged, with no comparison against investigations without the system."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The report gives no outcome for the charges and no count of crimes solved or prevented."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].display_confidence":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"confidence":"low","evidence_word":"claimed","claim_status":"The evaluator's account","basis":"Sources: the makers' other source and the evaluators' report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent source and no finding by an external body.","interpretation":"Existing display rule preserved; the richer outcome-specific confidence question still needs review."}},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rationale":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"Operators confirmed system matches in 333 of 1,524 searches with the newer algorithm, and the report relays a count of over 100 people charged, with no comparison against investigations without the system."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The report gives no outcome for the charges and no count of crimes solved or prevented."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rubric_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].status_basis":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].target":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"Operators confirmed system matches in 333 of 1,524 searches with the newer algorithm, and the report relays a count of over 100 people charged, with no comparison against investigations without the system."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The report gives no outcome for the charges and no count of crimes solved or prevented."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"availability":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"brief":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_kind":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_links[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_links":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_strength":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"answer":"The evaluator's account. Sources: the makers' other source and the evaluators' report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent source and no finding by an external body.","evidence_word":"claimed","claim_status":"The evaluator's account"}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-1219-source-0001","AIBD-1219-source-0002"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"The evaluator's account. Sources: the makers' other source and the evaluators' report. For the benefit itself, the cited sources include no independent source and no finding by an external body.","inferred":false}},"claims[].missingness":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].proposition":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"cross_border_flows[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"decisions[].action_outcome":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].grounds":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].institution_task":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].success_criterion":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"deployment_stage":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"classification":"pilot","answer":"The system was used in a pilot. The force ran the system as a Home Office-funded trial from 2017, and the report says that Identify became more business as usual.","scope":"The period and activity described in the case."}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-1219-source-0001"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"The system was used in a pilot. The force ran the system as a Home Office-funded trial from 2017, and the report says that Identify became more business as usual.","inferred":false}},"economics[].amount":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].costs[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].counterfactual":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].currency_price_basis":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].gross_net":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].measure_type":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].period_unit":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].realization":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].recipient_payer":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].return_payback":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].valuation_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"evaluations[].ai_uplift":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].comparator":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].design":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].effect":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].exposure":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].id":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].measurement_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].metric":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].reproduction_materials":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].setting_sample":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].uncertainty_limitations":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"external_references[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"follow_up[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"later":{"status":"persisted","note":"The report counts outcomes to May 2018 as 675 possible matches to suspects, over 350 of which led to charging decisions.","quote":"AFR Identify outcomes to May 2018 indicate 675 'possible matches' to suspects have been generated by the system, with over 350 of these having led to charging decisions.","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf"}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["later"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"human_oversight":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"id":"AIBD-1219"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["id"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"infrastructure_dependencies[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiaries":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiary_count":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].benefit_type":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","taxonomy_note":"People charged after identification from crime-scene images are read as a reduction in criminal activity. Most requests concerned theft."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_type","taxonomy_note"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].claim":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"South Wales Police used NEC's NeoFace facial recognition in a Home Office-funded trial that began in 2017. In its Identify mode, staff searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people. The system returned up to 200 ranked results, and an operator decided whether any was a match. As a condition of the Home Office funding, Cardiff University was commissioned to evaluate the trial independently, and its report appeared in September 2018. The evaluators found that operators confirmed system matches in 107 of 612 searches with the first algorithm and 333 of 1,524 with the second. The report states that over 100 people were charged following use of AFR Identify between July 2017 and April 2018. It takes that figure from a board meeting presentation of 20 April 2018. The evaluators say that they did not obtain arrest and charge figures for the first algorithm. The report compares no investigations with and without the system.","benefit_type":"Reduced Violence"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","benefit_type"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].distribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].duration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].id":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].stakeholder_group":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"Operators confirmed system matches in 333 of 1,524 searches with the newer algorithm, and the report relays a count of over 100 people charged, with no comparison against investigations without the system."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The report gives no outcome for the charges and no count of crimes solved or prevented."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].status":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_status":"reported"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_status"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].tradeoffs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].unexpected":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"unexpected":false,"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace to compare a face in an image with a database of stored images and return possible matches with similarity scores. South Wales Police used its Identify mode to generate investigative leads from images of unidentified suspects."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["unexpected","purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"places[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"location":"South Wales, United Kingdom","developer_country":"Japan","deployer_country":"United Kingdom"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["location","developer_country","deployer_country"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"purpose":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace to compare a face in an image with a database of stored images and return possible matches with similarity scores. South Wales Police used its Identify mode to generate investigative leads from images of unidentified suspects."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"record_dates":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"date_observed":"2018-09-01","date_basis":"source publication","date_precision":"month","revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the report of Cardiff University's Universities' Police Science Institute.","source":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","editor":"AIBD"},{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Placed the benefit under its broad categories and recorded its reach, duration, distribution and frequency from its sources.","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["date_observed","date_basis","date_precision","revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"replication.attempts[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"replication.conditions":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"replication":{"produced_by":["Staff in the Identify team searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people.","The system returned up to 200 results ranked by similarity score, and an operator chose any that might be a match.","NEC supplied an updated algorithm in October 2017, and the force improved how it took custody images."],"must_hold":["Submitted images must be of good enough quality, because the system rejected poor ones.","An operator must review each possible match, since the system only suggests matches.","Officers must treat results as intelligence that supports their own inquiries."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"revision_history[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"revisions":[{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Added the record from the report of Cardiff University's Universities' Police Science Institute.","source":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","editor":"AIBD"},{"date":"2026-11-01","change":"Placed the benefit under its broad categories and recorded its reach, duration, distribution and frequency from its sources.","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sector":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"domain":"Policing (suspect identification)"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["domain"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].access_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].citation_locator":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"report","citation":"Davies, Bethan, Martin Innes and Andrew Dawson. An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition. Universities' Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, September 2018. Wayback Machine copy of https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf.","title":"An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","date":"2018-09-01","written_by":"evaluator","quote":"Over 100 people charged following use of AFR Identify"},{"kind":"other","citation":"NEC. NeoFace Watch: High performance face recognition (product brochure), copy hosted by naffco.com.","title":"NeoFace Watch brochure","url":"https://www.naffco.com/downloads/pdf/neoface-watch-brochure.pdf","written_by":"makers","quote":"NEC's face recognition relies on a modified Generalized Learning Vector Quantization (GLVQ) algorithm.","supports_benefit":false}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["AIBD-1219-source-0001","AIBD-1219-source-0002"],"role":"Existing evidence items, in their original order"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"sources[].language":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"report","citation":"Davies, Bethan, Martin Innes and Andrew Dawson. An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition. Universities' Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, September 2018. Wayback Machine copy of https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf.","title":"An Evaluation of South Wales Police's Use of Automated Facial Recognition","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/2026id_/https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/2426604/AFRReportDigital.pdf","date":"2018-09-01","written_by":"evaluator","quote":"Over 100 people charged following use of AFR Identify"},{"kind":"other","citation":"NEC. NeoFace Watch: High performance face recognition (product brochure), copy hosted by naffco.com.","title":"NeoFace Watch brochure","url":"https://www.naffco.com/downloads/pdf/neoface-watch-brochure.pdf","written_by":"makers","quote":"NEC's face recognition relies on a modified Generalized Learning Vector Quantization (GLVQ) algorithm.","supports_benefit":false}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].upstream_sources":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"strategic_assessments[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"strategic assessments"},"summary":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"summary":"Cardiff University's evaluation relays a count of over 100 people charged after AFR Identify searches. With the newer algorithm, operators confirmed matches in 22% of 1,524 searches.","account":"South Wales Police used NEC's NeoFace facial recognition in a Home Office-funded trial that began in 2017. In its Identify mode, staff searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people. The system returned up to 200 ranked results, and an operator decided whether any was a match. As a condition of the Home Office funding, Cardiff University was commissioned to evaluate the trial independently, and its report appeared in September 2018. The evaluators found that operators confirmed system matches in 107 of 612 searches with the first algorithm and 333 of 1,524 with the second. The report states that over 100 people were charged following use of AFR Identify between July 2017 and April 2018. It takes that figure from a board meeting presentation of 20 April 2018. The evaluators say that they did not obtain arrest and charge figures for the first algorithm. The report compares no investigations with and without the system."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["summary","account"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].autonomy_permissions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].component_role":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].deployment_configuration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].inputs_outputs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_name":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_version":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"model_version":"NEC S17 algorithm until October 2017, then the M20 algorithm"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["model_version"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].product_name":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"system":"AFR Identify, using NEC's NeoFace facial recognition"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["system"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].provider":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"taxonomy_crosswalks[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"title":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"title":"Cardiff University's evaluation relays a count of over 100 people charged after South Wales Police ran NeoFace AFR Identify searches","headline":"Over 100 people charged after South Wales *AFR Identify* searches"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["title","headline"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"version":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["07a3098880df481b013b6bb8c12acdc6e6518308bb1d246cf26e02ebb95dcc04"],"role":"SHA-256 of the complete public record and its assessments"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"SHA-256 of the public record, its assessments, and its displayed answers and notes, excluding its own identifier and the derived coverage summary.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"workflow":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"South Wales Police used NEC's NeoFace facial recognition in a Home Office-funded trial that began in 2017. In its Identify mode, staff searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people. The system returned up to 200 ranked results, and an operator decided whether any was a match. As a condition of the Home Office funding, Cardiff University was commissioned to evaluate the trial independently, and its report appeared in September 2018. The evaluators found that operators confirmed system matches in 107 of 612 searches with the first algorithm and 333 of 1,524 with the second. The report states that over 100 people were charged following use of AFR Identify between July 2017 and April 2018. It takes that figure from a board meeting presentation of 20 April 2018. The evaluators say that they did not obtain arrest and charge figures for the first algorithm. The report compares no investigations with and without the system.","replication":{"produced_by":["Staff in the Identify team searched still images of unidentified suspects against a custody database of about 450,000 people.","The system returned up to 200 results ranked by similarity score, and an operator chose any that might be a match.","NEC supplied an updated algorithm in October 2017, and the force improved how it took custody images."],"must_hold":["Submitted images must be of good enough quality, because the system rejected poor ones.","An operator must review each possible match, since the system only suggests matches.","Officers must treat results as intelligence that supports their own inquiries."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"}},"summary":{"total":91,"addressed":91,"known":30,"reviewed":2,"reviewed_complete":2,"reviewed_partial":0,"record_mapped":28,"review_not_assessed":61,"not_assessed":0,"complete":false,"by_state":{"value_present":30,"not_reported":0,"unresolved":61,"not_assessed":0,"not_applicable":0,"withheld":0,"source_unavailable":0}}},"presentation_version":"4b191ad2f7de7fe7d6c65a83b951b5675724913cc9f1c7430b249517a2697c8f"}
