Watching the wanted
Country's first facial recognition camera system to detect and track down criminals
Penang has become the first state in the country to use facial recognition technology. Utilised in many of the island’s 767 CCTVs, it will help detect and track down criminals. As the police hail the move, legal experts have warned of possible breach of privacy and have called for the technology to be regulated.
GEORGE TOWN: Criminals, beware! The country’s first facial recognition camera system to detect and track down criminals on the streets is now up and running.
Many of the 767 CCTV cameras on Penang Island are now equipped with the facial recognition technology featuring artificial intelligence (AI) by IBM.
Upon detecting a face resembling those on the police wanted list, the high definition imaging captured by the cameras and seen at the 24-hour CCTV Control Room in Komtar will instantly alert the police.
The central command centre (CCC) at the Penang police headquarters will then send its officers to check out the suspect at the scene.
The camera will track the suspect on the move until the police arrive.
The cameras are capable of rotating and zooming in on the subjects at populated areas, busy streets as well as beaches and hillsides on the island.
During the launch, Penang police chief Comm Datuk Seri A. Thaiveegan assured the public that there will not be an issue of privacy infringement.
“The database is secured by the police and the faces are only of those in the wanted list in Penang – about 1,100 of them.
“We only share photos of wanted suspects for monitoring purposes and to identify their movements.
“Once the suspect is detected, the location identified, police will be alerted.
“Simultaneously, police will also be alerted by their own system.
“Only the police will know the details of the case for which a person is wanted. No third parties will have access to these details.
“If the cameras capture someone committing a crime on the street, we will input the suspect’s face into the system for search and tracking purposes.
“The system will aid the officers on the ground to recognise faces of those wanted,” he said in Komtar yesterday.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who was also present, said the technology was the state’s own initiative that costs the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) RM12mil.
He said the state government had spent RM46.2mil to install 767 CCTV cameras in the state since 2008, adding that another 150 CCTV cameras would be installed by May.
“We need between 3,000 and 5,000 cameras in order to secure optimum level of coverage in keeping Penang safe.
“Penang had taken the first step 10 years ago. Hopefully this will become a national initiative,” he said.
Explaining the face recognition’s implementation, MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the technology had been integrated into the CCTVs in stages from December 2017 and until 2020.
“The project is meant to turn the state into a smart city. Among the components in the project are the development of an Intelligent Operation Centre (IOC) for city planning and data collection, and video analytics to monitor traffic congestion, detect abandoned objects and measure water levels,” he said.
Penang Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said such technology should also be introduced on the mainland by integrating it to the existing CCTVs of Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP).
“Seberang Prai still lacks of such a system and we need to put focus on smart technologies there,” he said.
During the launch, the police also demonstrated how the cameras are triggered, as police moved in swiftly on two “wanted suspects” on the street after they were captured by the system.