Kenyan police launch facial recognition on urban CCTV network

Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) has launched a facial recognition system for CCTV cameras installed along major roads and highways as part of an upgrade of its Integrated Command and Control System (ICCS), Kenyans.co.ke reports.

The ICCS CCTV network, which includes thousands of cameras, already has implemented license plate recognition technology. The facial recognition system will be monitored by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations as part of the Critical Incident Management Suite (CIMS), and will issue alerts to law enforcement when a suspect is identified, according to the report.

“The technology was installed in partnership with a Japanese electronics company and will help in fast and accurate identification of suspects,” said Inspector General of Police Joseph Kipchirchir Boinett in a statement. Boinett also said the system would be deployed in both Nairobi and Mombasa.

A screenshot which appears to be from the launch presentation, published by Kenyans.co.ke, identifies the facial recognition system as NEC’s NeoFace. NEC VP of Federal Operations Benji Hutchinson told Biometric Update in a recent interview that improvements in facial recognition technology have made its deployment much more cost-effective. NeoFace was recently deployed for public security and access control at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.

The same technology could also reportedly be used by police in situations in which a suspect cannot be identified by fingerprints.

The Kenyan government is also deploying biometric kits to hospitals in a bid to stamp out health insurance fraud.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  cctv  |  facial recognition  |  Kenya  |  NEC