Real-Time, Privacy-First 1:1 Image Comparison

For Credentialed and Trained Law Enforcement Analysts, Investigators, Prosecutors’ Offices  & Medical Examiners

QAPLA – “Query Application for Persons Like or Analogous” – is a real-time, image-to-image comparison tool built exclusively for authorized personnel. It allows investigators to rapidly determine if two images likely represent the same person — without biometric storage or mass surveillance.

QAPLA is:

  • Restricted to trained law enforcement investigators, analysts, medical examiners, prosecutors’ offices, and other vetted partners
  • Non-retentive — no biometrics or biometric identifiers are accessed, stored or transmitted
  • Designed to be used during:
    • Criminal investigations
    • Missing persons recovery
    • Victim identification
    • Fieldwork by on-scene investigators
    • Identity confirmation for deceased individuals by medical examiners

A Vital Investigative Tool

QAPLA works instantly (in less than a second) and helps:

  • Confirm whether two photos belong to the same individual
  • Avoid wasting resources on false leads
  • Provide a secondary verification layer for investigative and forensic teams
  • Support human trafficking, missing person, and MMIP (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons) cases
  • Confirm identity of deceased individuals in the field or post-mortem scenarios

Confirm identities, recover victims, and avoid false positives — without storing or transmitting biometrics.

Benefits of QAPLA

Alternative to Age-Progression Modeling

QAPLA can and has successfully confirmed matches between childhood images and decades-old adult photos — without relying on subjective age-progression modeling.

Cold Case Solved

QAPLA can and has successfully confirmed matches between an image from a license and an image of a deceased individual, leading to a confirmation of identification and case closure. 

Matching Identities with Masks

QAPLA can and has successfully confirmed matches on masked individuals, from images taken from CCTV footage to UMbRA, leading to case closure. 

Caveat: This depends on image quality, lighting, and reference image.

How QAPLA Works

1. Authorized personnel upload two images for legally permitted users

2. QAPLA compares them using a NIST-approved 3rd party algorithm isolated and secure that operates in an isolated and secure black box environment

3. The investigator receives a similarity score instantly

4. No faceprints, other identifiers or images are accessed, transmitted or retained

5. Only the investigator can view the query or search results

Understanding Bias in Facial Recognition

Privacy & Security

QAPLA follows Biometrica’s strict privacy model:

  • No mass surveillance
  • No biometric storage
  • No video footage captured or archived
  • Comparisons performed securely via a third-party NIST-approved black box system, in an isolated environment
  • Biometrica staff have no access to any search, query, or result
  • Every use is auditable

Access Control

QAPLA access is granted only to:

  • Trained law enforcement analysts 
  • Public safety investigators
  • Medical examiners
  • Investigators in prosecutors’ officers
  • Vetted partners engaged in investigations, victim identification, or related duties