Suspect identification using CCTV plays an important role in policing, but was initially hampered by an expertise gap in selecting staff with the best facial recognition skills, and ways to most effectively apply those skills. From 2014, research by Dr Josh Davis and his team into Super -Recognisers (SR) was mobilised via consultancy expertise, training delivery, and SR tests for a number of police and commercial organisations. It played a key role in establishing and staffing Super Recogniser Units (SRU) at the Metropolitan Police Service, Munich Police and Queensland Police Services. A world first, these units concentrate the application of SR skills in dedicated teams, leading to higher CCTV identification rates for all services.
Businesses such as Super Recognisers International Ltd (UK), Yoti Ltd (UK and India), and VisionMetric Ltd (UK) were supported via training and tests for recruitment of SRs, staff essential to their core business. Extensive general public engagement activities have enhanced understanding of SR whilst, in the cultural sphere, two novels have drawn on Davis’s ability to reveal insights that stimulate and foster the general public’s fascination in SR.
