cctv camera

[bubs02]

we had a burglary the night before last and have a cctv camera we have the culprit on camera but not very clearly the police are sending the video tape away does anyone know what they can do and how good they can get these pictures

[wildwood]

I believe that one recent method to identify offenders is to measure the many face distances - between the eyes, eye to ear, nose/mouth etc. There are hundreds of different measurements they can take from one face, even if it is not clear. Combined they are almost as unique as one individual's fingerprint.
The computer will match those to known offenders and past criminals who had their ID taken and will spit out a list of baddies that need a closed look. This will seldom give one conclusive result but it is a start and the enhanced footage from the camera can be used as evidence in court.

The camera evidence will help a lot and there is a good chance of the culprit being caught.

On holiday in NZ at the mo, look at this plonker.

[Cockney_si]

If the person's face can clearly be seen then you have a good chance of using the CCTV as evidence, if they have their face disguised with a hat or hoodie then there is less chance.

if the stills of the footage are clear then that would be good too.

You may now want to re-locate your existing camera at a suitable height as to record better images, maybe investing in a second camera that could be a hidden one that would be at head height and in a place to catch images of peoples faces from the front as to get a full face shot.

Good luck.

[chas2008]

there are software programs that can enhance the images, unfortunately a lot of the CCTVs dont give that great a picture , its all down to how much you pay for it

[Cockney_si]

Sadly not all CCTV can be manipulated to get rid of the fuzziness of pictures like it can in films or on the crime television programmes.

Also in real life it can be hard to prove using face recognition software as in the case here :-

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/US-p olice-force-drops-face-recognition-system/0,13 0061744,120277598,00.htm