Comparison of Forensic Value of Biometric Analysis in Face & Ear Recognition in the Punjabi Population, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The use of face biometrics is very prevalent in forensic investigations for the identification of the perpetrators of crime due to the excessive use of CCTV footage that is usually available at the scene of a crime in urban settings. Ear biometric analysis of ear prints is also in vogue as a result of research advancements in the fields of biometrics. Keeping in view this scenario, it is the need of the hour to analyze the forensic value of this type of forensic evidence and compare these two tools of forensic biometrics. Purpose: To analyze and compare the forensic value of biometric analysis of face and ear print recognitions in the Punjabi population, in Punjab, Pakistan. Study design: This study is conducted by collecting the data from 100 samples of different people belonging to different backgrounds from different cities in Punjab, Pakistan after their informed consent and ethical approval. Their facial photographs and ear prints were collected for proceeding biometric analysis to form a database for comparison and recognition. Method and materials: After collecting data, the comparison is done to see whether we can recognize a person by only using ear print analysis or face biometrics after running a search in our own created database. Moreover, we also calculated the forensic values of this biometric analysis separately on its own and combined these two i.e., face and ear biometrics. . Furthermore, standard deviation, F-statistics, and Chitest p-value were also applied to see the power of discrimination of these two biometric methods of identification Results: In 100 samples, face recognition was proved to be 80 % recognition of identity as compared with only ear prints which showed 56 % accuracy in identifying the individuals who participated in this research. Furthermore, the combined result of both face recognition and ear biometrics showed 90 % recognition of the identity of the individuals. Statistical analysis proved that biometric analysis of the face for recognition of the identity of individuals was more valued as compared with ear print recognition. Also, it was found that if we combine these two methods of biometrics, the forensic value of recognition of individuals has increased and showed good results. Conclusion: The forensic value of biometric evidence of face and ear recognition is a very important tool for the forensic identification of individuals in crime scene investigations. Biometric facial recognition is better as compared to only ear print biometric analysis. Furthermore, using face and ear biometrics enhances the forensic value of biometric analysis.