Chinese police have started wearing high-tech sunglasses that can help them spot suspects within seconds in a crowded train station.
The transport police in Zhengzhou, central China, are given the cutting-edge gadgets as railway hubs around the nation embrace the busiest time of the year: the Lunar New Year travel rush.
With the help of facial-recognition technology, officers donning the digital shades would be able to quickly identify suspicious individuals.
A Chinese police officer wears a pair of smartglasses with a facial recognition system at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou in China’s central Henan province
The high-tech sunglasses would allow officers to quickly identify suspicious targets at the busy station – by taking mugshots and sending them to a database back at their headquarters
The special glasses are being used by four officers positioned at the entrances to Zhengzhou’s east station, according to the People’s Daily.
A camera connected to the smartphone-like glasses would allow the officers to take mugshots of the individual in question and compare them to a database back at headquarters.
The system would then bring up the suspect’s vital information, including name, ethnicity, gender and address. All the information would be transferred back to the officer’s glasses.
The glasses would also tell officers whether or not the targets are on the run from the law, the address of the hotel where they are staying and information related to their internet usage.
So far, the gadgets have allowed police to nab seven suspects accused of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit and runs, as well as another 26 people who were using fake IDs
The Lunar New Year travel rush, dubbed the largest annual human migration, began on February 1 across China.
Around the nation, some 390 million people are expected to travel by train in a 40-day period.
So far, the technology has allowed police in Zhengzhou to nab seven suspects.
They were accused of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit and runs.
Another 26 people were caught using fake IDs, according to the state-owned People’s Daily, quoting the city’s police department.
The system is part of China’s efforts to build a digital surveillance system able to use a variety of biometric data – from photos and iris scans to fingerprints – to keep close tabs on the movements of the entire population.
The rapid development of the technology has triggered a demand for commercial applications of the technology as well, with gyms, restaurants and even public toilets getting in on the facial recognition game.
Railway hubs around China are embracing the busiest time of the year: the Lunar New Year travel rush. Pictured, passengers wait to board trains in Shanghai on February 1
A policeman keeps order at Yuncheng North railway station in Shanxi Province on February 1
Most of the travellers are migrant workers travelling from major cities to their hometowns
Experts say China is racing ahead of Western countries in deploying facial scanners owing to its comparatively lax privacy laws and because Chinese are used to having their pictures, fingerprints and other personal details taken.
Banks are beginning to use facial recognition instead of cards at cash machines while the travel and leisure industry also sees opportunities – China Southern Airlines this year began doing away with boarding passes in favour of the scheme.
But the programmes have drawn fierce criticism from human rights organisations and privacy advocates, who are concerned by their potential for abuse.
China is deploying facial scanners owing to its comparatively lax privacy laws (file photo)
China has installed a surveillance system with over 20 million AI-equipped street cameras
Last month, China reportedly tested a sophisticated facial recognition system that could closely monitor targeted people in a Muslim-dominant province.
The network was installed at residents’ homes and workplaces in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in western China, reported Bloomberg.
Xinjiang is home to about 10 million Uighur people, who follow Islam and look distinctively different from China’s majority Han people.
Commenting on the news, William Nee, the China researcher at Amnesty International, said Amnesty International was concerned.
Mr Nee recognised that the Chinese government faces security concerns in the region and has the duty to protect its citizens from harm.
‘But there is amble evidence that government is using new technologies, like widespread CCTV cameras combined with facial recognition technology, to create a perfect police state,’ said Mr Nee.