* Advanced cameras to monitor passengers
* Interpol data integrated
* Software can identify age and other changes
The Sri Lanka Police yesterday took a giant leap in its 157-year history with the commissioning of a state-of-the-art Automatic Facial Recognition System (AFRS) at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake to nab criminals and immigration offenders.
Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon unveiled the AFRS at the new Facial Recognition Unit (FRU) of the BIA at an awareness program at the BIA auditorium.
A committee which was set up six months ago to provide solutions to check organised crime proposed the AFRS as a long-term solution to arrest criminals entering and fleeing the country. In recent times, 42 criminals who committed murders had fled the country within a few hours after committing them.
Following these incidents, a special investigation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department and data on 1,092 criminals and other offenders was sent to the new AFRS.
Information on International Red Notices issued by Interpol and data from the Immigration and Emigration Department has also been linked to this system. This system will be operated jointly by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police and the Emigration and Immigration Department.
The system can scan photographs of all passengers who pass through the Immigration and Emigration counters and the computer system will immediately sound an alarm when a criminal or immigration offender is identified.
The system installed at BIA will use 16 cameras with eight at the arrival terminal and eight at the departure terminal with further upgrades to be added in the future.
The state-of-the-art system can also detect 15 to 20 years of ageing even if only an old photograph is available, changes of hair colour and other disguises and sex changes. The system will also work in unison with the biometric data capture and e-gate systems which are being installed at the BIA in several phases. The privacy of passengers will be assured at all stages.
Secretary, Ministry of Public Security Viyani Gunathilake, Police Media Spokesperson SSP Nihal Talduwa, DIG in charge of the CID, Prasad Ranasinghe, Immigration and Immigration Officer Harsha Ilukpitiya, Airports and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Chairman Athula Galkatiya, Director of State Intelligence Service, SP Janaka Hapuhinna, Negombo SSP Anuruddha Bandaranaike, BIA Station Commander, Chief Inspector Malcolm Pate were also present.
