Facial Image Registry (Hungary)
Type: Law Enforcement, Civilian Registry
Technical information:
| Full name | Facial Image Registry |
|---|---|
| Country | Hungary |
| Contents | |
| Images | 30,000,000 |
| Individuals | |
| Runs database software | NEC Face Recognition Technology |
| URL"URL" is a type and predefined property provided by Semantic MediaWiki to represent URI/URL values. | |
| Related Technology |
Developers and Users:
| Developed by | Ministry of Interior (Hungary) |
|---|---|
| Owning institution | Ministry of Interior (Hungary) |
| Custodian institution |
Description[edit | ]
1.1. FR has been implemented in Hungary since March 2016. The use of FR is regulated by the Act CLXXXVIII of 2015, Facial Image Analysis Register and Facial Image Analysis System that stipulates the use cases of FR, a database used for FR searches (i.e. Facial Image Registry) and data sources for this database. Currently, the data sources for the Facial Image Registry are databases that contain facial images of individuals of known identity from various document/civil proceedings. In the future, the Registry of criminal records database that contains facial images (i.e. mugshots) for those holding a criminal record, is also planned as a data source for FR. While several institutions capture and enrol images, only one organisation, i.e. Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences is authorised to perform FR searches. Uncontrolled images related to criminal activity (e.g. CCTV camera footage) and individuals of unknown identity are not stored in any database. However, such images can be submitted for image analysis and searches against the Facial Image Registry.
1.2. Organisations involved The Hungarian Ministry of Interior is responsible for the Facial Image Registry and for the use of FR in criminal investigations. The data sources from which images are transferred to the Facial Image Registry (and thus, are used for FR searches) are owned by the Ministry of Interior. Image analysis and searches are performed by the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences.
1.3. Databases of facial images that contain facial images and are used for facial recognition in relation to criminal activity According to the Act CLXXXVIII of 2015 Facial Image Analysis Register and Facial Image Analysis System Article 1, the registers in Hungary that are permitted to be used as data sources for FR for the prevention and detection of crime, for the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators, for the identification of convicts and persons held in custody, as well as for the identification of dead bodies and searches for missing persons are as follows:
- Data register of identity documents;
- Data register of passports;
- Data register of road traffic;
- Asylum Information Database;
- Central Aliens Policing Registry's sub-registries:
- Central National Visa System;
- Residence permit a n d permanent residence permit registry (including temporary residence certificates);
- European Economic Area documents registry.
The first three registers listed above are administered by the Deputy State Secretariat for Data Registers and the last two registers are administered by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing.All the above-named source databases contain biographic data (name, surname, etc.) alongside the facial images. Other biometric data (fingerprints) are taken and used only for issuing documents and are not stored in any database. The biographic data of a document application is checked and confirmed by presenting a previous document, thus eliminating duplication due to aliases.
Images collected and stored in the above-named databases are from applicants for ID-cards (a mandatory document for Hungarian citizens from 16 years of age), passports, driver's licences, visas, residence permits (temporary/permanent), and also from those applying for international protection.
Photographs for ID-cards, passports and driver's licences are taken using specially equipped image capturing stations at document offices across the country. Photographs for documents issued by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing are taken either at consulates, regional directorates of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing or the asylum authority. Equipment used to capture images varies from cameras to photo booths. The type of image that is captured is a frontal view image and the file format used is JPEG. All photographs are taken in accordance with ICAO standards. In addition, a written document called "A Methodical Guide on the Technical Equipment to Use in the Document Office and the Requirements for Portrait Photography" is in use for the capturing and enrolment of images. Images in the above-named databases are stored for 5 to 25 years depending on the purpose for which the image was taken. There may be multiple images of a person in different databases that are used as data sources for the Facial Image Registry. Thus, the Facial Image Registry may contain more than one image per person.
1.3.1. Facial Image RegistryThe Facial Image Registry is an image gallery for performing FR searches. It is synchronised with the source databases listed in Section 1.3. The Facial Image Registry contains facial images, biometric templates of facial images and a reference to a source database. Currently, it contains approximately 30 million templates. No other data (e.g. biographic information) that is stored in the source databases is available in the Facial Image Registry.1
References
- ^ "Summary Report of the project “Towards the European Level Exchange of Facial Images” (TELEFI)". (2021) <https://www.telefi-project.eu/sites/default/files/TELEFI_SummaryReport.pdf> Accessed: 2021-03-12