CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday, October 4, 2021, inaugurated a facial-recognition software (FRS) that the police will use to identify criminals. The software can compare human faces with photos of criminals, suspects, missing and deceased persons on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) database and shortlist those bearing similarities.
The FRS requires an internet connection, and can be used on computers or mobile phones. Policemen on patrol or inspecting vehicles can use it to quickly retrieve the criminal antecedents, if any, of a person, a government statement said.
If a match is detected, and the person was involved in a case under the jurisdiction of a different police station, the software lets the officers exchange information with the respective police station. It also has an option to get to know if an arrest warrant has been issued against a suspect, helping officers act on the spot.
The statement added that there would soon be a provision to recognise faces of people on CCTV footage. This would help the police identify offenders among large crowds and ascertain the number of people participating in a protest so personnel can be deployed accordingly.
The CCTNS is a database of all records of crime from more than 14,000 police stations across India. So far, 5.3 lakh photos have been uploaded on the CCTNS, the statement said. The launch of the FRS, which is an initiative of the State government, was delayed due to the pandemic, sources said. The State police had introduced a similar project, called ‘Facetagr’, in the T Nagar police district in October 2017.
Will be used with CCTV footage too
There would soon be a provision to recognise faces of people on CCTV footage. This would help the police identify offenders among large crowds