What is Facewatch?

What is Facewatch?

As a retail business owner, you’re aware of the potential risks you face daily. Studies have shown that one in every 20 employees is either violently abused or verbally attacked on a daily basis. In addition, retail theft can significantly affect your profit margins and put your customers and employees at risk.

With constant reduction in police resources and an inconsistent approach to retail theft, criminals have had a significant advantage over retail businesses. The aim of Facewatch technology is to stop crime before it happens. Facewatch and its face watch facial recognition software help businesses take a stand and proactively tackle issues of theft before it’s too late. Facewatch is quickly becoming the UK’s leading facial recognition company. As a cloud-based facial recognition security system, Facewatch technology will send you instant alerts as soon as a subject of interest walks into your premises.

The Facial recognition technology from Facewatch is proven to reduce theft in your business by at least 35% in the first year.

 

How does Facewatch work?

Much like regular CCTV’s, a property using face watch facial recognition must display signage to notify customers that cameras are in operation.

The facial recognition of a Facewatch system works by detecting faces from CCTVs on your premises. The images are encrypted and transmitted to the highly secure cloud server from which they’re converted into sets of facial measurements, known as feature vectors. Firstly, the feature vectors are compared to the Subjects Of Interest on the Facewatch watchlist. If there’s no match, the data is deleted instantly. Therefore, protecting the data of individuals who are not on the watch list.

Facewatch camera feed is recorded similarly to regular CCTV; the difference is that Facewatch only retains footage for 72 hours, compared to traditional CCTV's 30-day retention. Furthermore, the faces of individuals reasonably suspected will be retained for 72 hours. This allows the system to upload the data after the event.

 

Who can install Facewatch?

Installation of the Facewatch system can only be completed by a Facewatch-accredited CCTV installer. With over 10 years of industry experience, Facewatch works only with reputable companies that can guarantee professionalism and customer satisfaction.

As one of the accredited installers for Facewatch. NM Cabling will only install equipment that has been tested and vetted for security and reliability. Furthermore, our engineers are fully qualified and receive regular training to ensure we maintain our standards. Lastly, our focus is on our customers. We aim to build lasting relationships by ensuring our services meet your needs and requirements.

Subjects Of Interest (SOIs)

The term Subject of Interest, or SOI, refers to an individual reported by the business owner. This individual will be suspected of a crime or disorder. Additionally, this process is strictly controlled, enabling Facewatch to comply with Data Protection Laws. Anyone who uploads any data that is not compliant could be subject to fines or censure by the ICO.

The database used by Facewatch will hold SOI’s facial images and the reasons they are suspected of crime or disorder. This is known as a watchlist.

The watchlist of subjects of interest is then converted into templates for a facial recognition algorithm. The templates are then used to compare with the face watch facial recognition template of people picked up by the CCTV. If there’s a potential match, the owner will receive an alert.

 

All alerts must be verified by the Facewatch user, and if not verified, the alert will be deleted within an hour. Alerts which are marked as 'no match' are deleted instantly. SOI personal data is shared with the user only when the system generates a facial recognition alert. The information shared will include facial images, alert date, and crime category. Equally important, personal data of individuals who are under 18 will not be shared. In conclusion, subject of interest data will be retained for 2 years from the last recorded incident. Findings of no crime will lead to the removal of that incident record.

 

Who can benefit from FaceWatch?

1. Independent shops
2. Arenas & Events
3. Large Retail
4. Estate management
5. Clubs & Bars
6. Hotels & Restaurants
7. Forecourts
8. Airports & Stations

 

Does Facewatch comply with the Data Protection Act (DPA)?

As a data controller, Facewatch shares and processes personal data, special category personal data and criminal offence data with its users. The DPA 2018 provides that such processing and sharing is justified if specific conditions are met. The relevant conditions are:

1. It’s crucial to alert business owners so they can detect or prevent unlawful acts.
2. Processing cannot be carried out with consent because it relates to crime prevention.
3. It is in the Substantial Public Interest because Facewatch processes data on a national level and it is reducing or preventing crime in a user’s property. Additionally, it can potentially prevent and detect crime.

Click here for more details regarding Facewatch and the Data Protection Act 2018