The Department of Home Affairs says its newly launched Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) will come in handy in the fight against crime in the country.
The department launched the new biometric system last month in Cape Town.
The system uses facial recognition to identify individuals, which Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said it will serve as a single source for biometric authentication of local citizens and non-citizens across state institutions and the private sector.
Home Affairs Director-General Mkhuseli Apleni explains, “When police go to a crime scene what they’re looking for is the biometrics, therefore, they are able to go quickly and arrest a person but if you take now on the economic side, a smart card has got now an advantage that in it, it is carrying that biometrics so it’s gonna help us to resolve a lot of issues which is identity theft. It will help us to deal with issues of crime then it will interact with the law enforcement agencies.”
