Concerts and sporting events are almost always safe and fun. But the public is still haunted by recent events like the Manchester Bombing, Las Vegas Massacre and the Paris attacks at a concert venue and soccer game. According to a FaceFirst/SurveyMonkey report, nearly nine in ten Americans think it’s likely that a terrorist or mass shooter will attack a concert or sporting event in the next 12 months.
While attending concerts and sporting events remains an integral part of life for many Americans, fans do not feel adequately protected when attending events. The survey also showed that 77% of Americans think that security guarding tourist attractions and events are unlikely to remember the names and faces of potential terrorists and criminals. And in order to help them, nearly two thirds (64%) of Americans are now in favor of using face recognition to help secure events.
Face recognition can add an important layer of security to events by instantly recognizing when banned fans, dangerous criminals or potential terrorists enter or approach a venue. FaceFirst’s face recognition system for events is proven to work well in crowds and isn’t fooled by changes in appearance like facial hair, glasses or hats. It’s highly accurate since it uses 150,000 points of reference on a face when establishing identity (5X more than the latest iPhone!)
How Face Recognition for Events Works
FaceFirst’s face recognition system uses high definition cameras that capture images of visitors at 30 frames per second. The system then matches against a database of banned fans, known criminals and potential terrorists at a speed of 25 million images per second. In the event of a match, it sends an instant alert to security personnel, complete with contextual details that help them take the appropriate action (e.g. call 911, eject the guest, apprehend, etc.)
At this point in time, face recognition can’t prevent every act of violence. However, it is currently the best means of crime prevention available for sporting events and concerts. It provides venues with an extra layer of security that is both needed and—as the survey proved—wanted in these uncertain times.
For a closer look at how FaceFirst keeps events safe, check out this video.