KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall today said all of its 10,000 CCTV cameras have been upgraded with high-resolution facial recognition technology that could help authorities monitor, identify lawbreakers and respond swiftly.

The upgrade, announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh and DBKL Mayor Datuk Seri Fadlun Mak Ujud here, is part of a large‑scale rollout of an integrated system that would connect monitoring, enforcement and city management capabilities.

“This is part of efforts to make the city safer,” Yeoh said at a press conference to unveil the system.

“If you think about doing crime in KL, don’t.”

Also present was Kuala Lumpur Police Chief CP Datuk Fadil Marsus.

Fadil said CCTV monitoring has been shown to be effective in increasing suspect detection and investigation capabilities by 50 per cent, contributing to more effective case resolutions. 

With the upgrade, the police can now monitor suspicious behaviour, track suspects’ movements and respond early if needed.

“What this means is that it gives us (the police) quicker time to respond if, say, civilians have any concerns about suspicious behaviour... the immediate effect from this is we expect to see a reduction in physical crimes,” Fadil said.

Yeoh said the integrated system enables stronger coordination between DBKL and the police, as well as other agencies.

Fadlun said talks with the Ministry of Transport to integrate the system for their own enforcement work is already in the pipeline.

This could mean quicker response by agencies like the Road Transport Department to traffic violations like encroachment of bus lanes or other forms of obstructions.

Fadil, on the other hand, expects the integrated system would help the police manage traffic better.

At the moment, traffic management by the police is still done “manually”, he said.

Other advanced technical suite from the upgrade includes “geo-fencing” for high-risk areas and behavioural analytics designed to flag suspicious movements to the Kuala Lumpur Command and Control Centre (KLCCC).

Police currently have officers stationed at DBKL’s command centre but Fadil said the force is in the process of mirroring the system with its own computers at the KL Contingent Headquarters’ command centre.

Some of the cameras placed at hotspots are also capable of blasting out audio messages. For example, a CCTV within the KLCC vicinity has been sending out regular warnings to tourists not to hire illegal photo touts.

Facial recognition also means the touts’ identities can be recognised, making arrests and press charges easier.