New security systems tested at airports

The Customs Service is testing high-tech, computer-linked video cameras to film the faces of passengers arriving in New Zealand and help identify terrorists and other undesirable travellers.

Customs chief financial officer John Kyne said several "biometric" identification systems were being tested. It was a question of when, rather than if, they would be installed in New Zealand, he said.

The systems used a series of complicated equations to identify people by searching through a database and instantly analysing facial features, including eyes and face shape.

One of the most promising systems uses wide-angle lenses to record the faces of arriving passengers then match them with pictures of wanted people stored in a computer memory.

The computer is said to be able to identify people even if they change hairstyle, grow a beard, or wear glasses. If it makes a match, the surveillance system operator alerts officers that the person should be questioned.

Customs was keen to piggy-back whatever technology was adopted in Australia, Mr Kyne said. Australian Customs had been testing the face-in-the-crowd system at Sydney Airport for several months and was evaluating the results.

- NZPA