SPIRIT · Project

Privacy-Compliant Identity Investigation Platform for Law Enforcement and Security Agencies

digitalTestedTRL 6

Imagine you're a detective trying to piece together who someone really is — you have passport records, social media, phone data, and surveillance footage, but they're all in different systems and formats. SPIRIT built a single platform that pulls all these clues together, connects the dots automatically, and presents the full picture — while making sure everything stays legally compliant with privacy laws. Think of it as a smart research assistant for investigators that blurs out anything they're not allowed to see, but keeps everything they need to build a court case. The platform was tested and evaluated by actual law enforcement end users across 9 European countries.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved in development

European countries represented in the consortium

total project deliverables produced

industry partners in the consortium

SMEs participating in the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Law enforcement and security agencies face a growing challenge: suspect identity information is scattered across dozens of disconnected databases, in different formats and jurisdictions. Investigators waste enormous time manually cross-referencing records, and risk either missing critical connections or violating strict privacy regulations like GDPR. The cost of getting this wrong is high — either criminals go undetected, or evidence gets thrown out of court because it was obtained improperly.

The solution

What was built

SPIRIT built an integrated identity resolution platform with built-in privacy controls. Key deliverables include the Privacy Controller for Modelling and Filtering (software that ensures data anonymization and privacy compliance are embedded in the investigation workflow), a Legal and Ethical Framework with risk analysis, and validated training courses — both in-person and distance learning — tested by end user and R&D partners. In total, 52 deliverables were produced across the project.

Audience

Who needs this

National police forces and border security agencies needing cross-database identity checksCorporate investigation firms handling fraud and identity verification casesBanks and financial institutions running KYC/AML compliance operationsGovernment intelligence agencies requiring privacy-compliant data analysisSecurity technology integrators building solutions for public safety clients

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Public Safety & Law Enforcement

enterprise

Target: National police agencies and border security organizations

If you are a law enforcement agency struggling to connect identity information scattered across multiple databases and jurisdictions — this project developed a platform that correlates multimedia data, resolves identities across sources, and structures evidence for court presentation, all while enforcing privacy compliance through built-in anonymization and filtering. The system was tested by end user partners across a consortium of 18 organizations in 9 countries.

Private Security & Corporate Investigation

mid-size

Target: Large corporate investigation and fraud detection firms

If you are a corporate investigation firm dealing with identity fraud, insurance scams, or internal misconduct — this project built identity resolution algorithms that can associate and cross-reference data from multiple sources while maintaining strict data protection compliance. The Privacy Controller component ensures your investigations stay within legal and ethical boundaries, reducing your regulatory risk.

Financial Services & Compliance

enterprise

Target: Banks and fintech companies running KYC/AML operations

If you are a financial institution spending heavily on Know-Your-Customer and anti-money-laundering checks — this project developed associative search and identity correlation technology that could automate cross-referencing customer identities across databases. The built-in privacy filtering ensures GDPR compliance is embedded in your workflow rather than bolted on after the fact.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or deploy this technology?

Based on available project data, specific pricing or licensing terms are not disclosed. The coordinator is LUTECH SPA, an established Italian IT company (not an SME), which suggests commercial licensing arrangements may be available. Interested parties should contact the consortium through the project website at spirit-tools.com.

Can this scale to handle national-level identity databases?

The project name itself emphasizes 'Scalable' privacy-preserving intelligence analysis. The platform was designed to continuously initiate complex associative searches over all sources relevant to an investigation and persist results in a searchable knowledge base. Testing involved end user partners from the consortium of 18 organizations across 9 countries.

What is the intellectual property situation?

The project ran as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) under Horizon 2020, meaning IP is typically retained by the consortium partners who developed each component. LUTECH SPA as coordinator and the 7 industry partners likely hold rights to different platform modules. Licensing discussions should be directed to the relevant consortium partner.

How does this handle GDPR and privacy regulations?

Privacy compliance is a core design principle, not an add-on. The project developed a dedicated Privacy Controller for Modelling and Filtering, embedded directly into the platform architecture. A comprehensive Legal and Ethical Framework and Risk Analysis was produced to ensure all functionalities comply with relevant data protection regulations.

How long would integration take with our existing systems?

Based on available project data, the platform was built to correlate information from multimedia data across multiple sources. Training course materials were developed and tested — including a distance learning course — suggesting the system requires structured onboarding. Integration timelines would depend on your existing infrastructure and data formats.

Is there training and support available?

Yes. The project produced dedicated training materials, including a course on algorithms and methods (tested by R&D partners) and a distance learning course (tested by end user partners). These 52 total deliverables include software documentation and training resources that could support deployment.

What stage of development is this technology at?

The project closed in October 2021 after producing 52 deliverables including working software (Privacy Controller), training courses tested by end users, and a legal compliance analysis. The technology reached a tested prototype stage with end-user validation, but there is no public evidence of commercial deployment yet.

Consortium

Who built it

SPIRIT assembled a strong, security-focused consortium of 18 partners across 9 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, UK). With 7 industry partners (39% of the consortium) and 4 SMEs, this is a well-balanced mix of technology developers and domain experts. The coordinator LUTECH SPA is an established Italian IT services company, not an SME, which provides commercial stability. The 6 'other' category partners likely include law enforcement agencies and government bodies serving as end users — critical for a security-focused project. The 4 universities provide research depth. This composition signals that the technology was built with real operational requirements from actual security practitioners, not just in an academic lab.

LUTECH SPACoordinator · IT
STAD ANTWERPENparticipant · BE
LINKOPINGS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR THAMES VALLEYparticipant · UK
LIVE SRLparticipant · IT
SINGULARLOGIC PLIROFORIAKON SYSTIMATON KAI EFARMOGON PLIROFORIKISparticipant · EL
AKADEMIA POLICJI W SZCZYTNIEparticipant · PL
LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITYparticipant · UK
MINISTARSTVO UNUTRASNJIH POSLOVA REPUBLIKE SRBIJEparticipant · RS
UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONAparticipant · ES
INNOVA INTEGRA LIMITEDparticipant · UK
WEST MIDLANDS POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONERparticipant · UK
HELLENIC POLICEparticipant · EL

How to reach the team

LUTECH SPA (Italy) — a major Italian IT services company. Contact through the project website or search for SPIRIT project contacts at LUTECH.

Order a report on this consortium See LUTECH SPA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how SPIRIT's privacy-preserving identity resolution technology could fit your security or compliance operations? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right consortium partner for your specific use case.

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