Malta considers CCTV with facial recognition to curb antisocial behavior

Sep 26, 2018, 1:44 pm EDT | Stephen Mayhew

In a recent radio interview, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that CCTV cameras complete with facial recognition software could soon be installed in several zones across the archipelago in the central Mediterranean, Lovin Malta reports.

“The police are doing a good job but there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done to step up enforcement,” Muscat said in the ONE Radio interview. “We are looking into safe city concepts to prevent antisocial behavior, whereby CCTV systems with technology that can identify law breakers can do away with the need to have police stationed 24/7 in certain areas.”

The Prime Minister added that implementation of the technology would be in full respect of data protection and privacy regulations.

The Malta IT Law Association warned the plan amounts to a serious invasion of privacy, and is against Maltese and EU legislation.

Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) recently 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.