In digital forensics, every detail matters – especially in cases involving children. That’s why at Semantics 21 (S21), we’re proud to introduce a new, game-changing innovation: S21 School Badge Lookup.
Designed with investigators, for investigators, this new feature helps identify schools based on visual descriptions of school badges – even when no text or logo is visible. Whether it’s “a lion on a blue background with gold trim” or “a tree with stars,” you can now turn vague descriptions into actionable leads.
Built to Solve What Others Can’t
Traditional tools offer little help when only partial or visual clues are available. Describing a school badge used to lead nowhere. But with S21 School Badge Lookup, you can input descriptors like colours, animals, symbols, or shapes and search our growing, curated database of hundreds of thousands of real-world school emblems. This tool is already proven in the UK, Northern Ireland, and Canada – and we’re proud to announce its launch in the USA.
We’ve spent years describing, curating, and categorising these badges – so you don’t have to.
What Makes It Different?
Just like every tool we create, this was designed hand-in-hand with frontline investigators. It integrates seamlessly into S21 LASERi-X and is:
- Fully offline and secure
- Fast and intuitive, no specialist training required
- Compatible with standard police hardware
- Built to support real investigations, at scale
- Delivered as a free upgrade within S21 LASERi-X
Others have tried colour-based uniform search – but results were too generic, unreliable, and expensive. This is investigator-driven innovation that works.
Key Features:
- Descriptive Search: Input visual traits like colours, animals, and shapes
- AI Smart Matching: Suggests the most likely badge candidates
- Regional Filtering: Search by country, state or region
- Linked Evidence: Connect matches to likely victim locations
- Offline Access: No internet required, everything is done locally in-app
- Map Visualisation: View badge locations in real time in S21 LASERi-X’s offline map
Proven in the Field – Real Stories, Real Impact
📌 Case 1: An investigator reviewing a CSAM series enhanced image quality using S21 LASERi-X. A small portion of a badge was visible on a child’s jumper. Using the badge lookup, they found the matching school within minutes, made contact, and rescued two children the same day. Without these capabilities, it’s highly likely the victims would have remained unidentified.
📌 Case 2: In another case, an investigator noticed a book in the background with a distinctive logo but no visible text. By filtering colours and objects alongside country of origin, the tool identified the school. Contact was made, and a young girl was rescued from an abusive household.
📌 Case 3: In rural Canada, a vague description – “a tree with stars” – helped identify a school in under five minutes. That single lead unlocked a chain of actionable intelligence that otherwise wouldn’t have been found.
Making a Difference – No Matter What
You don’t need to be a customer to get help. If you have a badge and need assistance – reach out.
We believe finding a victim is more important than revenue, roadmaps, or shareholders. We share your mission – and that’s what sets us apart. We’re not driven by profit, but by purpose.
Growing Global Support
We’re actively working to:
- Expand badge coverage to more countries
- Add new categories outside of schools (e.g. youth groups, sports teams, uniforms)
- Form strategic partnerships to protect more children
Have a feature idea that others said “wasn’t possible” or “not on their roadmap”? Challenge us. We’re here to help you.
Try It for Free
As part of our commitment to supporting those who protect the vulnerable, School Badge Lookup is available free for law enforcement teams within S21 LASERi-X. No training needed, just results. Our team of former investigators is on hand to help you get started.
Join a live webinar, request a free trial, or speak directly with one of our users. We’re ready to support you with tools that just work.
Checkout Our Other Forensic Focus Articles
Explore Our Other Innovations
We also offer powerful tools for:
- CSAM categorisation and Victim identification
- Rapid CCTV review
- The worlds largest CSAM intelligence database
- Offline transcription of interviews, evidential footage and bodycam content
- Automating your X-Ways Forensics workflow
- Mental Wellbeing, to protect your team
- On-site Triage and in-lab risk management
At Semantics 21, we’re here to help you do what matters most – solving crime, delivering justice, and protecting those who need it most.
Let’s make a difference – together.
