Surat first city to launch picture intelligence unit

Surat became the first city of the country to launch a picture intelligence unit, comprising real time facial recognition, number plate recognition and vehicle speed violation system after Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel dedicated the Rs 38-crore project to police here today.
"Surat became the first city in the country to launch a project using picture intelligence technology, which helps recognise faces of criminals," Patel said, dedicating the project to the police department.
"The system will help to curb crime in the city as it will send an alert with a captured picture of an offender and number plate of his vehicle to a commanding control room at the city police commissioner's office and then the local police station will be informed," Patel said.

Elaborating about the project, Surat Police Commissioner, Rakesh Asthana said CCTV installed at 113 locations will give real time information about any passing vehicles and people in front of those cameras.
The project has been initiated on public private partnership (PPP) model with a city-based NGO Surat Traffic Education Trust, Asthana said.
According to the honorary secretary of the NGO, Ashok Kanungo, the database of the system has around 20,000 pictures, including images of petty criminals of the city and global terrorists.

"If any offender or criminal passes from the front of the camera, an alert will be sent to the control room and a message will soon be sent to the local police station which will help the cops nab the criminals," Kanungo said.

"Besides, in case of rash driving, the cameras will capture the image of the number plate of the vehicle and issue an alert," he said.
Same way, if a vehicle is involved in theft then the picture of its driver and number plate of the vehicle will be captured which will help to nab the thieves, he added.
The systems will work with forensic technology in such a way that even if an offender changes his get-up or does plastic surgery to change his face, he will be easily recognised, Kanungo claimed.