Overview
A merge combines two or more person profiles into one when they're identified as the same person. Events from the other profiles move to the surviving profile, and the duplicate profiles are removed.
Enrollment carries over to the surviving profile, so you don't need to enroll the POI again (apart from in the instance of the enrollment image reset example below). This applies to merges within your organization and merges across organizations.
Sometimes a merge will result in unenrollment: For merges within your organization, the enrollment image resets to the primary image of the surviving profile. If that image doesn't pass the quality check, the POI is unenrolled and needs to be enrolled again.
Sometimes a merge will result in re-enrollment: A merge can also make someone a POI. If neither profile met a Repeat or High Loss rule before the merge but has approved events and their combined approved events do, Auror tries to enroll the surviving profile.
FR Admins receive an email when a merge affects a POI, so you can check the merged profile and update the enrollment if needed.
Who has access
Facial Recognition Admins (FR Admins) receive merge emails and can review or change the enrollment.
Merges are confirmed by users with the Dot Connector, Dot Connector & Reviewer or Auror Admins.
Retail users can only merge profiles within their own organization. Merges across organizations are confirmed by Auror Admins or law enforcement users with the Dot Connector role.
If you're unsure whether your organization has access, contact your Auror Administrator or Customer Success Partner.
How it works
Step 1: A merge is confirmed
Person profiles can be merged manually in Connect the Dots, or by confirming a merge suggestion from Auror. Suggestions come from comments (for example, "P123 is the same as P456"), matching person details or matching images.
Auror decides which profile survives. The profile with the most events is kept. If both have the same number of events, the oldest profile is kept. The name you choose when merging only sets the display name.
Step 2: Events move to the surviving profile
Events from the other profile move to the surviving profile with their review status. Approved events stay approved, and events that haven't been reviewed still need review.
Step 3: The surviving profile is checked against your POI rules
Auror checks the surviving profile against your POI rules, using approved events within the lookback period. What happens next depends on whether either profile was a POI before the merge:
A profile was already enrolled: enrollment carries over to the surviving profile, and the enrollment image resets to its primary image. If that image doesn't pass the quality check, the POI is unenrolled and needs to be enrolled again with an image that passes. See How to update a POI's enrollment image.
Neither profile was a POI, but the combined approved events meet a rule: Auror tries to enroll the surviving profile. This only happens with Repeat and High Loss rules, because they add up events or loss, and only where the events have been previously approved.
Serious Behavior rules only need one qualifying event, so a merge can't newly qualify someone for them.
Step 4: Check the merge email
When a merge affects a POI in your organization, FR Admins receive one of these emails. You only receive one email per merge.
Person merge affects an enrolled person of interest: sent when the surviving profile is a POI and the merge brought in at least one event that hasn't been reviewed.
Person Merge: POI Re-enrollment Update: sent when the merge made someone a POI who wasn't one before, and Auror has tried to enroll them. If the merge also brought in events to review, this email covers that too. The email says Auror has tried to enroll the POI, not that enrollment succeeded, because enrollment can still fail, for example if the image doesn't pass the quality check.
When you receive an email, select View Profile in the email to open the person profile, then check:
New information: whether the merge brought in anything relevant to your enrollment decision, for example a sign the POI may be a minor.
Enrollment status: whether the POI is enrolled. If they are in Review they need to be re-enrolled.
The enrollment image: For merges within your organization, it resets to the primary image of the surviving profile. If you'd chosen an image manually, you may want to change it.
Key things to know
Enrollment usually carries over: the POI stays enrolled and alerted on after the merge. For merges within your organization, this depends on the primary image of the surviving profile passing the quality check.
A merge can make someone a POI: two profiles that each fall short of a Repeat or High Loss rule can meet it once merged if the event has been previously approved. Auror tries to enroll them and emails FR Admins.
Check the profile after a re-enrollment email: the email doesn't confirm that enrollment succeeded. The person profile shows the current enrollment status.
Enrollment stays with your organization: a merge with a profile from another organization never gives that organization your enrollment.
Events from other organizations don't count: if intel sharing is on, you may see the other organization's events, but only your organization's events count towards your POI rules.