TAJ
Type: Law Enforcement
Technical information:
| Full name | Traitement des antecedents judiciaires |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Contents | Facial Images Controlled Uncontrolled |
| Images | 6,000,000 |
| Individuals | 21,000,000 |
| Runs database software | |
| URL"URL" is a type and predefined property provided by Semantic MediaWiki to represent URI/URL values. | |
| Related Technology |
Developers and Users:
| Developed by | |
|---|---|
| Owning institution | Ministry of Interior (France) |
| Custodian institution | Ministry of Interior (France) |
Description[edit | ]
FR in France has been in use since 2013. The FR functionality is part of the criminal information system TAJ (Traitement d'Antecedents Judiciaires) [Criminal Case History Database] that is co-used by two police organisations in France, the National Gendarmerie and the National Police. As of October 2019, the number of facial images on TAJ was approximately 6 million out of which more than 99% were controlled images from suspects and victims (i.e. unknown dead bodies, seriously injured and missing persons) whilst the rest (approximately 6000) were uncontrolled images (e.g. photo robot sketches, surveillance images etc.). TAJ is populated with images that are captured and enrolled by both of the named organisations. FR is solely used as an investigative tool by investigators of the National Gendarmerie and the National Police who perform FR searches. Search results are used for operational purposes supporting the investigation and not as evidence in court. With the current technical infrastructure and legal landscape, it is not possible for the police to search facial images that have been recorded for civil purposes, such as applications for driving licences, passports etc. Only in very exceptional circumstances, are the police permitted to ask for such images for a 1:1
examination. 1
1.3. TAJ There is one searchable national facial image database for police use. This database is part of the criminal information management system known as TAJ (Traitement d'AntecOdents Judiciaires) [Criminal Case History Database]. TA J became operational with all its functionalities, including FR, in 2013. The use of FR in TAJ in relation to criminal investigations is legally authorised by the French data protection agency known as CNIL (Commission Nationale lnformatique et Libertes) [National Commission on Informatics and Liberty]. In October 2019, the number of individuals that were entered in TAJ was approximately 21 million. Data from the same individual may be entered in the database several times should the person be involved in several criminal investigations. Data entries that involve the same individual are merged manually when the identity of the person has been established (e.g. by using fingerprints or DNA). However, there is currently no systematic verification of double registrations (i.e. deduplication).
Not all 21 million individuals whose data have been entered in TAJ, have photographs enrolled in this system. The number of controlled facial images in TAJ was more than 99% out of 6 million as of October 2019. Moreover, the controlled images can include multiple photographs of a given individual taken at different times and/or from different angles.1
Uncontrolled Images[edit | ]
TAJ is also used for storing uncontrolled images (e.g. photo robot sketches, surveillance images etc.). The number of uncontrolled facial images was approximately 6000 out of 6 million images as of October 2019. Such images are attached to data entries for a specific crime and/or person, together with metadata about the offence (e.g. date and time, address, modus operandi etc.). These are retained in the database according to the legislation (the retention time depends on the seriousness of the offence or on whether the case has been solved). 1
References
- a b c "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