Police to use AI for advanced surveillance

Punjab Police has developed a software called "Face Trace System," an artificial intelligence-based system to identify people, in collaboration with Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB).

Punjab Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar formally inaugurated the latest face recognition system. The system will be linked to the Human Resource Management Information System and Crime Record Office (CRO) of Punjab Police.

The Face Trace System can recognise an individual with the help of pictures taken from different poses. It can be used to monitor the entry and exit, attendance, and working efficiency of the staff. For example, if a person leaves premises multiple times, the system will note all the details of their entry and exit, including the amount of time spent, in the logbook.

Similarly, with the help of the system, suspected criminals whose pictures have been taken and saved with the CRO office can also be traced.

Punjab Police had set up e-pickets at a few important points, which are manned digitally as well as physically.

Punjab Police has a plan to equip these pickets with Face Trace. Whenever a suspect passes through the picket, the system points them out.

IG Usman Anwar directed all the RPOs, DPOs, and investigating officers to use this modern system to bring habitual and professional criminals to justice.

He further said that this system should be further improved in the light of training, practice, integration, and feedback received from the force, and it should be enhanced by linking it with the database of other institutions.

He expressed these views while giving instructions to the officers after formally inaugurating the "Face Trace System" at the Central Police Office.

DIG IT Ahsan Yunis informed about the features, benefits, and working of the face recognition system and said that all the districts have been informed about the use of the Face Trace system. Soon the Face Trace system will be connected with e-police posts, crime prevention apps, etc, he added.

Ahsan Younis further said that the Face Trace System is compatible with the latest technology of artificial intelligence and it will speed up the process of arresting criminals after identification.

DIG IT also explained how to use the system and its features and provided detailed information to the participants. PITB Chairman Faisal Yousaf, Additional DG Qasim Afzal, Chief Technical Officer Adil Iqbal, and Project Director Asim Iqbal were present at the ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony, IG Punjab awarded certificates of appreciation to the officers of PITB and Punjab Police IT Wing.

Additional IG Special Branch Zulfiqar Hameed, Additional IG Welfare Riaz Nazir Gada, Additional IG Establishment Raja Riffat Mukhtar and all the RPOs, CPOs, DPOs participated through video link.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2023.