A device comprising: a communication unit; a memory storing rules for rating candidate subjects; and a controller configured to: monitor, via the communication unit, one or more data sources including notifications to look for persons, vehicles, or other subjects of interest to identify a candidate subject; determine, from the rules, a rating of importance of the candidate subject; and when the rating meets a second threshold, lower than a first threshold: provide a classifier defining the candidate subject to an object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at one or more edge devices (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4), wherein the classifier is generated, by the controller, using descriptors of the candidate subject extracted from data received from the one or more data sources or is retrieved from one or more databases, when the rating meets the first threshold: provide the classifier defining the candidate subject to the object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at the one or more edge devices, and transmit, via the communication unit, to one or more communication devices (101, 158), an alert identifying the candidate subject, when the rating does not meet the first threshold and does not meet the second threshold: refrain from generating the alert and refrain from providing the classifier to the object recognition engine, wherein the controller is further configured to: when the rating does not meet the first threshold, refrain from generating the alert identifying the candidate subject. a communication unit; a memory storing rules for rating candidate subjects; and a controller configured to: monitor, via the communication unit, one or more data sources including notifications to look for persons, vehicles, or other subjects of interest to identify a candidate subject; determine, from the rules, a rating of importance of the candidate subject; and when the rating meets a second threshold, lower than a first threshold: provide a classifier defining the candidate subject to an object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at one or more edge devices (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4), wherein the classifier is generated, by the controller, using descriptors of the candidate subject extracted from data received from the one or more data sources or is retrieved from one or more databases, when the rating meets the first threshold: provide the classifier defining the candidate subject to the object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at the one or more edge devices, and transmit, via the communication unit, to one or more communication devices (101, 158), an alert identifying the candidate subject, when the rating does not meet the first threshold and does not meet the second threshold: refrain from generating the alert and refrain from providing the classifier to the object recognition engine, wherein the controller is further configured to: when the rating does not meet the first threshold, refrain from generating the alert identifying the candidate subject. monitor, via the communication unit, one or more data sources including notifications to look for persons, vehicles, or other subjects of interest to identify a candidate subject; determine, from the rules, a rating of importance of the candidate subject; and when the rating meets a second threshold, lower than a first threshold: provide a classifier defining the candidate subject to an object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at one or more edge devices (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4), wherein the classifier is generated, by the controller, using descriptors of the candidate subject extracted from data received from the one or more data sources or is retrieved from one or more databases, when the rating meets the first threshold: provide the classifier defining the candidate subject to the object recognition engine to cause the object recognition engine to automatically search for the candidate subject, using the classifier, in multimedia data received at the one or more edge devices, and transmit, via the communication unit, to one or more communication devices (101, 158), an alert identifying the candidate subject, when the rating does not meet the first threshold and does not meet the second threshold: refrain from generating the alert and refrain from providing the classifier to the object recognition engine, wherein the controller is further configured to: when the rating does not meet the first threshold, refrain from generating the alert identifying the candidate subject.