London comes only second to Hong Kong as the most watched city in the world, with an estimated 642,000 cameras in the capital by 2020.
Despite this the Metropolitan Police has introduced face recognition technology in the interests of crime prevention.
In an interview for Rising East, UEL’s Head of security, Sivakumar Jayaraman said he was open to the idea of using face recognition technology here on campus.
The university currently uses a linear security system, which automatically displays students’ and staff members’ information at the library front desk when gaining access by tapping in with an ID card.
Face recognition goes further by enabling ‘live’ CCTV footage to be matched to a database of photographs – without the use of ID cards.
Mr Jayaraman also said that face recognition technology would be expensive to install, and he is confident that the current system, which includes CCTV coverage alongside linear recognition, is effective.
But some students are concerned about low security at the main gate next to Cyprus DLR. “During the day there is a security guy standing at the gate. He can’t possibly know who is a student and who isn’t, just by looking at them.”
Another student said: “When I was in college, we had to tap in from the main entrance. No one could get in without a student ID. That makes more sense.”
In February there was a stabbing not far from Docklands Campus, and this has been a cause for concern among students living here. However, some students say they they feel safer now than last year because security has been tightened up.
“This is my third year living on campus and I’ve seen the security improve. I definitely feel safer now compared to previous years,” a third-year student said.
When asked how they felt about CCTV on campus, students said they were accustomed to being filmed: “This is normal for us, we live in London so it’s expected everywhere you go.” But some had misgivings about facial recognition: “I’d be more paranoid because you don’t know who’s looking at your information.”
