UNIQUE facial recognition software, which can colour code club patrons based on whether they are okay or a risk, is being trialled at a Kings Cross nightclub.

The software takes just 1.5 seconds to scan a person’s face and compare it to a database of patrons under venue banning orders.

Kings Cross Liquor Accord chief executive Doug Grand said the software, which has been trialled at World Bar, could ease costs of staffing ID scanners and increase safety at venues.

Concerns about privacy over software were expected, but Mr Grand, argued that it was less invasive than ID Scanners: “Venues in Kings Cross have to have 100 per cent CCTV coverage except in bathrooms — this is no different,” he said.

media_camera Could scanners eventually replace the traditional doorman?

Faces captured would be sent to a cloud and scanned through a database of trouble makers built up by the venues over time. Any data not used would be destroyed after 30 days. Unlike ID scanners, it would not take personal data.

QIK ID produces the software. Its operations lead Alan Dinevan said it works by measuring the distance between the eyes and bone structure.

The next stage of the test is a light system which indicates a patron’s status.

Lights would blink red if a person is banned, green if they were a VIP and purple if the face was not picked up.

Mr Grand said first trials had 96 per cent accuracy.

media_camera Doug Grand at the control centre, and behind, the software has captured and recorded him at the entrance to World Bar. Picture: Carly Earl.

Creators of current ID scanners, Group Security Solutions, argued facial recognition was not solid.

GSS technical adviser, Michael Giannak said: “In the CSI world it sounds fantastic, but in the real world, it’s not quite there yet”.

“The Patronscan ID scanning system has a recorded real world accuracy of 98 per cent on 3600 different IDs with a very low operational cost,” he said.

“Facial recognition is a very different biometric technology, several factors limit the effectiveness of this technology, image quality, the image size and the face angle which are all dependant on lighting conditions.”

media_camera Patrons queue at World Bar in Kings Cross after midnight. Picture: Bill Hearne

media_camera Police dealing with a fight at World Bar. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

Kings Cross police commander, Superintendent Michael Fitzgerald declined to comment on the new system’s effectiveness, but said the current legislation of ID scanners is supported.

The Kings Cross Liquor Accord’s submission to the Callinan Review into liquor laws across NSW, recommended Kings Cross as a pilot for NSW.

Originally the accord, and Australian Hotels Association proposed ID scanners. But the government made it mandatory to run the scanners seven nights a week for five hours at high-risk venues. It meant the cost of hiring an operator, was more than $96,000 per machine annually.

Mr Grand said the scanners, tied with a 1.30am lockout had seen 20 venues in Cross close: “Whilst businesses are supportive of safety it has cost them a lot of money,” Mr Grand said. “They might get a group of four or five and then one person might not have ID so they all decide to go somewhere else.”

media_camera The World Bar at Kings Cross.

How it works

■ It takes 1.5 seconds for a persons face to register.

■ If linked to a police portal it would recognise people under banning orders, or wanted people and notify police.

■ Clubs could create their own banned lists.

■ The venue would be notified via a coloured light system and a text if a person is banned.