Tihar jail to get AI-powered surveillance system

Source: The post is based on the article “Tihar jail to get AI-powered surveillance system” published in The Hindu on 4th February 2023.

What is the News?

Tihar jail is installing artificial intelligence(AI)-powered CCTV cameras to monitor inmates and fight crime.The premises will also have a real-time grievance redressal system.

What is Tihar Jail?

Tihar jail is the largest prison complex in South Asia. It is home to some of the most high-profile criminals.

Tihar jail, which has the capacity to house 5,200 inmates, has 12,762 prisoners at present across its nine central prisons.

The overcrowding has made monitoring inmates difficult. Despite advanced security surveillance, the killing of Sidhu Moosewala last year was reportedly plotted inside Tihar jail.

What are the steps being taken to address these concerns at Tihar Jail?

AI Powered CCTV Cameras: In the pilot project, 20 AI-powered cameras with built-in facial recognition will be installed. As many as 1,248 additional CCTV cameras will also be put in place.

The cameras will cover repetitive hand movements such as while assaulting another person, or hand movements suggestive of a phone call, and automatically trigger an alert to the officers. The cameras will also capture instances of inmates leaving the designated perimeter.

However, the AI-powered cameras will not be installed in jails which house only women prisoners, because of “privacy concerns”.

Grievance redressal mechanism: The mechanism has been in place for years, but the existing system is time-consuming and completely manual. 

The new mechanism will address physical and mental distress calls in real-time. A PCR call-like feature set up in each ward will help respond to distress calls. Staffers will also be provided with walkie-talkies to communicate with each other.