Artificial intelligence on the tower – Newspaper Kommersant No. 43 (7488) of 03/15/2023

The Federal Penitentiary Service is studying the possibility of developing and implementing video recognition of violations in Russian colonies. Experts believe that such control systems, among other things, can protect prisoners from “subjective attitude on the part of the administration of the colony.” But the developers of video analytics systems say that such solutions do not currently exist in the Russian Federation, and their creation will require tens of billions of rubles and several years.

Sources of Kommersant in the video analytics market said that the Federal Penitentiary Service has returned to the development of a plan for the digitalization of prisons and colonies approved by the government in 2021, which includes the introduction of face recognition systems and the actions of prisoners. The pilot project should take place in correctional colony No. 6 (IK-6) in the Astrakhan region until 2025, says one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. According to him, since last autumn, the Federal Penitentiary Service has been looking for a contractor with the help of the VTB accelerator, but so far without success. Kommersant’s sources in Russian video analytics development companies explained that the reason for the caution of the players is primarily in the “risks of working with law enforcement agencies.”

From the terms of reference of the project (Kommersant has it), it follows that the Federal Penitentiary Service wants a system to be introduced in the colony that can track the facts of prisoners leaving the territory, smoking in the wrong place, violation of the daily routine, violation of uniforms, refusal to attend mass events , failure to comply with the requirements of the administration, etc.

VTB explained that the accelerator can “give recommendations to partners on the choice of service providers, including in the field of video analytics.” At what stage is the FSIN project, VTB did not explain. The digitalization plan of the Federal Penitentiary Service was approved by the presidium of the government commission on digital development chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. In 2021, it was assumed that about 25 billion rubles would be allocated for the modernization of the colonies. until 2023 (see Kommersant dated December 12, 2021). The office of the Deputy Prime Minister told Kommersant that the Federal Penitentiary Service is responsible for the development of the terms of reference for the project and its implementation. The Federal Penitentiary Service and IK-6 did not respond to Kommersant’s requests. According to a source familiar with the progress of the project, no funds have been allocated for it yet.

The system, as follows from the terms of reference, should recognize about 60 offenses in the ShIZO (penalty cell), in the canteen, in the strict regime unit, etc. The customer asks to establish automatic fines for prisoners: the system should issue a report on offenses, the last name and first name of the prisoner at the end of the day , photos and time of the incident.

The Federal Penitentiary Service also wants to integrate the personnel security system: we are talking, for example, about determining the single movement of female employees, “entering into non-official relations with a special contingent”, etc. It is planned to establish a biometric access control in the colony for at least 50 thousand facial templates and palm prints .

The interlocutor of Kommersant in the video analytics market clarifies that now not a single Russian company has a system that would meet the tasks set: “It will take at least a year for additional training, cameras with good resolution and compliance with a number of other conditions.” In general, the Kommersant source believes that the introduction of such systems “from a technological point of view is premature.” According to him, only one server with a hundred connected cameras will cost 1.1–1.5 million rubles: “The more types of analytics you need, the more power you will need.”

Another interlocutor of Kommersant among developers says that there are also no standards for assessing the quality and implementation of such systems. According to him, in order to “get an applicable solution, it will take several tens of billions of rubles and two to three years of work.” NtechLab told Kommersant that they do not participate in projects related to video analytics in correctional facilities. VisionLabs declined to comment.

The introduction of the system can reduce the factor of subjectivity of the colony employees in relation to specific prisoners, Alexander Kholodov, deputy chairman of the commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on security and interaction with the PMC, believes: “Video analytics will equalize all prisoners, and there will be no story that one was fined more due to the fact that a particular employee does not like him.”

According to Vadim Klyuvgant, a partner at the Pen & Paper Bar Association, CCTV cameras in colonies are provided for by law in any case: “But it is important to look at exactly where and for what purposes both video surveillance itself and its results are used, what is the reliability of these results.” In particular, he notes, the law prohibits any actions that degrade the dignity of convicts, and this rule “should not be violated when using video surveillance.”

Timofey Kornev, Nikita Korolyov