As facial recognition technology becomes more common in investigations, specialized training can help officers understand how to interpret and verify leads responsibly and effectively.
By Natalie Fournier
Facial recognition has emerged as a valuable investigative tool, creating a growing need for specialized training that helps public safety officers understand both its capabilities and limitations. As the technology becomes increasingly common, recognizing its practical applications, limitations, and ethical considerations is essential for anyone involved in modern investigations.
The Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN) partnered with Facial Recognition Investigative Consultants LLC to offer a unique and comprehensive online training program designed for criminal justice professionals who utilize or receive facial recognition leads during investigations.
The Facial Recognition Investigative Certification Course (FRIC) is a self-paced course that provides participants with a practical understanding of facial recognition technology, including terminology, morphological comparison concepts, cognitive bias mitigation, and the distinction between an investigative lead and probable cause.
Joseph Courtesis, retired police commander, President of JCour-Consulting LLC, and subject matter expert for the FRIC course, identified a critical challenge with the growing use of facial recognition technology in investigations. Many detective investigators were treating facial recognition matches as confirmed identifications rather than investigative leads. Unlike fingerprint matches, facial recognition results can produce lookalikes or “doppelgangers,” making additional verification essential.
Reviews of several wrongful arrests revealed that the issue was not with the technology itself, but with a lack of training for the investigators receiving and acting on facial recognition leads. To address this gap, Courtesis developed a program to help investigators properly interpret and use facial recognition results. It was later transformed from an instructor-led course into an interactive online learning experience, making this education accessible to police personnel across jurisdictions through CPKN’s Learning Management System (LMS).
“The problem is easy to identify if you really take a second to just look,” says Courtesis. “We know where the problem is, and the course solves the problem. Let’s get these officers properly trained, let them understand what a facial recognition lead is, how the algorithms work, how to verify this lead, and the proper steps.”
According to Courtesis’s research report, Recommended Investigator Training for Verifying Facial Recognition Leads, while facial recognition technology can significantly enhance investigations, mishandling of facial recognition leads by untrained personnel poses ethical, legal, and operational risks.
“I think it’s imperative that every chief ensures that their investigators receive this type of training prior to requesting a facial recognition lead,” says Courtesis. “The mistakes are consistent…and this course is designed to address those issues and mitigate the risk to that agency and protect somebody from being inappropriately arrested.”
Through the FRIC course, students examine common investigative errors, wrongful arrest case studies, best practices, policy considerations, and accepted standards for human review and corroboration. Upon successful completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion and the foundational knowledge needed to safely incorporate facial recognition leads into investigations.
For more information on the FRIC course, and to register, visit https://www.cpkn.ca/course/facial-recognition-investigative-certification/.
