Lu Chuan knew that there were specialized computers for image processing on the market.
These computers have high requirements for CPU, graphics card, and memory.
And it's not necessarily the more expensive, the better—some hardware components are suitable for image processing but may not be suitable for gaming or computations.
But buying one now would definitely waste time.
Most of these computers need to be custom-built based on demand; there are ready-made ones available, but they are usually not as good as professionally assembled ones.
Of course, another reason is that the price is much higher.
If Lu Chuan were to buy one himself, he wouldn't care about the price, but clearly, the leaders of the Criminal Investigation Team would not think this way.
"Master, can we borrow a computer from the Image Investigation team?"
The Criminal Investigation Team of Haizhou City's Public Security Bureau has an Image Investigation Team, established in the last decade or so.
Now, criminal investigations increasingly rely on findings from surveillance videos.
Some criminal acts are directly recorded by surrounding surveillance cameras.
Thus, the Image Investigation Team came into being.
Surveillance cameras on the market vary widely in brand, quality, and installation time, resulting in dramatically different video quality.
A high-definition camera installed ten years ago differs in high-definition standards compared to the ones installed now.
Some cameras work well during the day but capture only vague figures at night.
Some cameras, although labeled as high-definition, have poor quality due to dust and raindrops on the lens due to lack of maintenance.
In the practical process of solving cases, police encounter images or videos of varying clarity.
Most of these videos cannot directly identify a suspect's appearance.
Technological methods are required to process the information in the videos, which is the work of the Image Investigation Team.
Moreover, from the cases Lu Chuan has handled since joining the police, almost every case involves reviewing surveillance video.
Some cases, due to longer durations, involve reviewing substantial volumes of video, ranging from ten days to twenty days, or even a month, with some tracing back three months or more.
Each case involves so many videos, so imagine ten cases, a hundred cases.
The data volume is astronomical.
Haizhou City's Public Security Bureau's Image Investigation Team has a considerable staffing, with 138 members, plus auxiliary police and some contract workers, totaling over 300 people.
Yet even with so many people, they are incredibly busy.
This indirectly explains the case of Sun Yuting being defrauded in Qinzhou City, where the large amount involved hasn't led to identifying the suspect's true identity through image recognition.
It's not unimportant; they are genuinely overwhelmed.
Additionally... the technology isn't sufficient.
Although Lu Chuan hasn't formally acquired image processing skills within the system, the image processing abilities within Advanced Fingerprint Skill Appraisal and Analysis are already quite formidable.
He may not outclass most people in the Image Investigation Team, but he's likely among the top within the Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
However, when Lu Chuan was analyzing the suspect's face in the Sun Yuting fraud case, he spent over an hour without any progress, which demonstrates the difficulty of image processing.
Even though the computer's performance is partially to blame, it's the same computer used for Crime Scene Investigation.
As a subordinate unit of the Criminal Investigation Team, the Image Investigation Team surely would not refuse Liu Guodong's request.
Wu Kaiyue, the captain of the Image Investigation Team, is an old acquaintance of Liu Guodong.
"Old Liu, you're here in person?"
"It's been a long time; I just came by to see."
Liu Guodong turned to introduce Lu Chuan: "This is Lu Chuan, he joined the Crime Scene Investigation Office last year."
"Haha, no need for introductions, the two-time First-Class Merit achiever, Lu Chuan!"
Wu Kaiyue wasn't living in isolation; Lu Chuan's reputation in the Criminal Investigation Team surpassed even that of Captain Qin Yong.
Lu Chuan had seen Wu Kaiyue before, but they weren't particularly familiar due to lack of prior interaction.
"Old Liu, you mentioned borrowing a computer over the phone earlier? What's the situation?"
The Criminal Investigation side has always had low requirements for electronics like computers, so borrowing one this time surely means something's up.
"It's for face analysis; Lu keeps crashing when using our computers."
Liu Guodong gestured towards Wu Kaiyue's computer: "For image processing across the department, yours is certainly the best and most professional."
"For something , you could've just sent over the image, and I'll handle it for you."
"Haha, we considered how busy the Image Investigation Team is and didn't want to add to your burden."
"Others might be too busy, but for you, Old Liu, I'd find someone even if we're swamped. Don't worry, I'll have our top expert from the team do it."
"Yes, Chen Kun. Now, you can relax; Chen Kun's skills are among the top in the province. Specialization matters; we're no good at crime scenes, but when it comes to image investigation, we're professionals!"
Both the Image Investigation Team and the Crime Scene Investigation Office are among the prestigious units under the Criminal Investigation Team.
It's not about having great power but more opportunities for assistance requests from grassroots units.
Liu Guodong didn't expect that Wu Kaiyue would directly have the top expert in the Image Investigation Team help out.
In this case, should Lu Chuan still proceed?
Liu Guodong glanced at Lu Chuan to seek his opinion.
Lu Chuan nodded slightly.
He had heard of Chen Kun, known as the precious figure in the Image Investigation Team, who rarely gets involved in ordinary cases.
If he steps in, it's usually for major cases.
The homicide case solved by the Criminal Investigation Team recently involved surveillance footage, all handled by Chen Kun, who indeed provided many leads.
However, Lu Chuan was unsure whether the expert could solve this one.
After all, the case in Qinzhou City was a major case, undoubtedly reviewed by their Image Investigation Team.
The outcome was clear—there were no results.
However, the overall business level of the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau is slightly higher than that of Qinzhou City.
The Image Investigation Team here might be far superior?
Image Investigation Team's No. 1 Analysis Room.
As the leading figure in the Image Investigation Team, Chen Kun had his own dedicated workspace, and of course, the computer he used was top-notch.
"Old Chen, do you have time to look at this case?"
Chen Kun was at the computer reviewing surveillance footage when he was suddenly interrupted and showed some displeasure.
This is a flaw of technical men—wearing their emotions on their sleeves.
However, he was familiar with Wu Kaiyue's voice, so he paused his work and got up.
"Captain Wu, Director Liu."
Liu Guodong nodded, signaling Lu Chuan to hand over the USB drive.
"Hello, Teacher Chen, I'm Lu Chuan from Crime Scene Investigation."
Chen Kun's expression changed slightly; he had heard of Lu Chuan even though he didn't know him well.