INTERPOL, the international police organization, has launched an initiative inviting private-sector companies to help find more advanced policing solutions. Dubbed the Strategic Partners Programme, the initiative is the product of INTERPOL World, a new biennial conference organized by the global policing body.In a press release, the organization noted that the inaugural event will place a focus on safe cities, supply chain security, border management, and cyber-security. While no specific solutions have yet been outlined, all of these major areas have fairly obvious biometric applications: India, for example, is working to secure its own borders with a national biometric citizenship database, for example; while the UK is increasingly interested in biometric technologies such as facial recognition software in order to secure its cities. Meanwhile, biometric technologies can be used to track goods through supply chains just as they’re now used to track cash flow through casinos, and of course the realm of cyber-security has long been a mainstay for the industry.
INTERPOL’s reaching out for such public-private partnerships is indicative of the speed with which these technologies are developing in the private sector, and may be part of a growing trend: Recently in the US, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has invited private firms and academic researchers to help them develop tattoo recognition technology, which could be of great help to policing authorities there. As biometric technology continues to develop at such a fast pace, we may see more government bodies rely on private firms to help pioneer solutions for the public sector.
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October 24, 2014 – by Alex Perala
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