india

Updated: Jul 11, 2019 23:30 IST

The Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), which the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is acquiring, will only be used for identifying criminals, missing children and unidentified dead bodies, two officials of the Union home ministry said on Thursday.

“There are about 7.71 lakh people reported missing across the country. Of this, 98,000 are children. Currently, police have to physically go through the database to find out whether a certain person has been reported missing in any part of the country. The AFRS will make this much easier and efficient,” a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“Similarly by using the AFRS, law enforcement agencies can better locate whether a certain suspects or convict has been reported about or wanted in a separate case.” He added this will ensure that criminals and terrorists can no longer hide behind fake or assumed identities.

Officials said that some state police forces are using the facial recognition to solve cases of missing children. “The Telangana police recently used facial recognition software to reunite a missing girl with her family in Assam,” a second official said on condition of anonymity.

“In addition, the Delhi police, which is using a facial recognition system, has on a trail basis been able to trace 3,000 missing children in four days.”