Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on October 4 announced a Face Recognition Software (FRS) to assist the state police in their investigations. An official statement from the state police said the software will help in tracking down accused persons, suspicious persons and missing persons. It will also help in identification of dead bodies by comparing the data available with CCTNS.
The software will also share information about a person to all other police stations and help in apprehending the accused if they commit crime within the limits of any other police station. While the government is touting the technology as a technology that could lead to many breakthroughs, privacy experts have raised several concerns, including mass surveillance and violations of the right to privacy. Some have said that such technology should be introduced along with a law to regulate use.
Meanwhile, the police statement further said that the software will identify pending arrest warrants against an individual and any crime history of the individual concerned. The software can be installed on computers used in police stations as well as in smartphones of police personnel on ground duty. The police department's statement said there are plans to update the software to identify faces obtained from CCTV footage, which could help track missing people. “More than being helpful in solving crimes, the software seems abusive in nature,” says Prince Gajendra Babu, an education activist who participated in several protests.
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