Facial recognition helps identify suspects in Guiyang

Facial recognition is becoming increasingly common in China. In Guizhou's provincial capital, Guiyang, the technology is helping police fight theft, reports the Guizhou Daily.

Police officers work inside a control center at a police station in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province. [File Photo: Wechat]

Since 2017, an intelligent early-warning system has been installed in buses in Guiyang.

Through facial recognition technology, the system compares and analyzes faces with police profile information, helping to identify potential thieves among the passengers.

Authorities in Guiyang have been compiling a data base since 2015 with the personal information of over 20,000 criminal suspects. That information is now being shared across a network covering various provinces, regions and cities across the country.

So far, over 100 pre-warning notices have been sent out to authorities on buses in Guiyang, helping nab 40 pickpockets.

Video resources gathered in public places including streets, ports, railway stations and shopping malls have also contributed to supporting the police data base.