RPF to use face recognition, drones in rail stations

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) will roll out a nationwide security plan with an improvised technology to make stations safer.

The technology will consist of CCTV cameras with facial recognition software and topography mapping of railway stations for greater access control. A senior RPF official said stations in Bengaluru with high footfall would be part of the pilot project.

Arun Kumar, Director General of Police, RPF, was in the city on Wednesday to announce the nationwide security plan spanning 202 stations, including KSR Bengaluru, Yeshwantpur and Mysuru in Karnataka.

These stations will have CCTV cameras with facial recognition software, while the RPF will use body-worn cameras. By the end of the year, it would also use drones. “CCTV cameras are already installed in Bengaluru’s stations. Facial recognition would make things difficult for repeat
offenders,” the DGP said.

RPF Divisional Security Commissioner Debashmita C Banerjee said the Bengaluru wing of the RPF and the city railway police had recovered Rs 1 crore worth of stolen goods in the city stations over the past five months.

“Greater use of intelligence along with technology acts as a force multiplier and makes nabbing criminals easier. This would gradually become a deterrent factor,” he said.

The DGP said the RPF would conduct topography analysis using drones to close unwanted entryways. It also intends to use biometric technology to verify passengers travelling in general coaches. “Such methods of crowd control would make it difficult for criminals to act,” he added.

The RPF will also recruit 12,000 sub-inspectors and constables across the country.