Towards the European Level Exchange of Facial Images

ended

The overall objective of the project “Towards the European Level Exchange of Facial Images” (TELEFI) is to promote and improve the future exchange of forensic information between national databases. The proposed action will focus on facial recognition as one of the most promising new biometric technologies for forensic investigation and for forensic data exchange. The action will review the organisational, technical and legal aspects of forensic facial recognition at the European level, identify the existing facial databases and their availability for cross-border use, and establish the best practices and quality standards in the field across the EU Member States. The TELEFI project will have three outcomes: a description of the current situation of forensic facial recognition in the EU Member States, recommendations towards the harmonization of the field at the European level, and the dissemination of the results among the relevant EU stakeholders. These outcomes will be essential for the Member States to help achieve the interoperable implementation of the face modality for forensic practice, to further develop forensic facial databases and to move forward towards the exchange of facial images. The results of the TELEFI project will be presented in a detailed report and at a dissemination conference. The beneficiaries of the action will be the policy makers, decision makers and practitioners in the field of facial recognition at both the national and EU levels, as well as the wider forensic and academic communities engaged with biometrics. Thus, all EU Member States will benefit from the action. The expected impact of the action has the potential to aid in preventing and combating cross-border crime and terrorism. The project is in line with the June 2016 Council Conclusions and Action Plan on the way forward in view of the creation of an European Forensic Science Area to stimulate the exchange of forensic data via Prüm and to improve its quality.