Image Retrieval to Identify Anonymous Corpses Reported from ID Card Photos Using Face Recognition

Main Article Content

Ratthakarn Panmarasri
Sirirat Choosakoonkriang
Woratouch Witchuwanich

Abstract

The problem of missing persons and the identification of anonymous corpses remains a major challenge in the Thai justice system due to fragmented data sources and lengthy verification processes. This study aims to develop an image retrieval system from national ID card photographs using face recognition technology to enhance the efficiency of personal identification. The evaluation was conducted under two principal approaches: (1) image retrieval in a 1:N setting and (2) person verification in a 1:1 setting. The experimental results for image retrieval (1:N) show that the system achieved a Top-1 Accuracy of 86.59% and a Top-5 Accuracy of 98.0%, with an average response time of only 2.12 seconds per query—nearly 100 times faster than human experts, who required about 3.5 minutes per case. Although the experts’ highest accuracy (≈95.8%) remains superior, the proposed system proved highly effective as a preliminary screening tool. For the person verification (1:1) task, testing with similarity scores on the ID-All-99 dataset yielded an ROC–AUC of 0.706, reflecting the challenges posed by cross-pose and cross-quality variations. In comparison, evaluations under standardized test conditions produced a significantly higher ROC–AUC of 0.92, further emphasizing the system’s sensitivity to input image quality. In summary, the proposed system demonstrates strong potential for integration into forensic workflows, particularly in urgent scenarios such as locating missing persons or identifying disaster victims. However, practical deployment requires well-defined preprocessing procedures and carefully calibrated threshold settings to ensure consistent accuracy and reliability in real-world environments.

Article Details

How to Cite
Panmarasri, R., Choosakoonkriang, S., & Witchuwanich, W. (2026). Image Retrieval to Identify Anonymous Corpses Reported from ID Card Photos Using Face Recognition. Journal of Criminology and Forensic Science, 12(1), 15–30. retrieved from https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/forensic/article/view/281219
Section
Research Articles

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