Ohio Prisons Pilot Facial Recognition Technology

BILLERICA, Mass. – Viisage, a provider of advanced technology identity solutions, recently announced that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) awarded the company a one-year contract to upgrade its digital image system, which also calls for the creation of a pilot program to use Viisage’s face-recognition technology.

The contract is valued at $534,000. Throughout an eight-year relationship with the Ohio DRC, Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG) has worked with the department to create and maintain a digital image system to identify inmates and support investigations statewide.

With the introduction of a face-recognition component to the program, the department is expected to explore the expansion of security in several critical processes such as visitation screening, prisoner pre-booking and the issuance of employee and inmate ID cards. In augmenting visitation screening, for example, officials at the Ohio DRC anticipate the introduction of face recognition technology will help deter undesirable or unauthorized visitors from attempting to meet with inmates.

The DRC face-recognition pilot program is schedule to begin in January 2005 at a designated high security DRC prison, which will use the technology to evaluate the visitation process and crackdown on illegal activity. In the future, DRC plans to leverage the technology to provide additional identity information for prisoner pre-booking and criminal intelligence efforts in support of the Ohio Bureau of Investigations.