A man, who allegedly recently pushed his wife in front of a train in Vasai, was nabbed within 12 hours, thanks to the sophisticated facial recognition technology (FRT). The state-of-the-art CCTVs are immensely helping the Western Railway (WR) to swiftly nab criminals. Currently, 411 FRT cameras have been installed at entry and exit points of 48 stations; 390 of them are functional while the remaining will start operating soon.
FRT gives crucial leads on crimes
The modern FRT has played a key role in cracking serious crimes. In yet another case, the Bandra railway police caught a murder suspect while the Mumbai Central railway police successfully identified a robbery suspect. Likewise, the Churchgate railway police resolved seven crimes and seized stolen booty worth Rs1,96,490. The FRT gave crucial leads to the Bandra railway police who detected ten offences and impounded assets worth Rs8,22,812.
These hi-tech CCTVs can also detect various facial features like eyelids or the forehead. Furthermore, a multi-layered surveillance network stores data collected from these cameras for a month. These CCTVs assist security agencies in crowd monitoring, detection of abandoned items and encroachment prevention at stations. The collected data is transmitted via an IP network to monitoring stations as well as the command center.
Police get notified if criminal spotted by cameras
Arshuddin Shaikh, railway crime branch senior Inspector, said, “This AI-driven technology captures faces and alerts police if any criminals travel within the covered areas. The railway police have provided details, including names and photos, of 2,000 top wanted criminals to be integrated into FRT cameras. If a listed criminal is spotted by these cameras, the police get a prompt notification.”
The Central Railway will also soon deploy 3,652 FRT cameras across 117 stations. They will offer 180 degrees tilt angle on the vertical axis and 360 degrees field of view on the horizontal axis, ensuring no blind spots. Video feeds will be displayed at local RPF posts as well as centralised CCTV control rooms. To ensure clear images and extensive coverage, four types of full-HD cameras will be deployed, including bullet type for platforms, dome type for indoor areas, ultra HD 4K cameras for critical locations and pan-tilt-zoom for parking areas.
Key numbers
WR's count of FRT cameras: 411
Functional CCTVs: 390
Stations covered: 48
No. of wanted criminals in database: 2,000
Cameras to be deployed by CR: 3,652
Stations to be covered: 117
Data storage duration: 30 days
Stolen booty seized with CCTVs: Rs10,19,302
