Artificial intelligence is beginning to take over a job once performed by traffic police standing at Dhaka’s busiest intersections.
At 23 major junctions across the capital, newly installed AI-powered cameras are now automatically detecting traffic violations -- from running red lights and crossing stop lines to riding motorcycles without helmets, using mobile phones while driving, driving on the wrong side of the road and illegal parking.
For now, the technology is being used primarily to manage traffic.
But behind the pilot project lies a far more ambitious vision: transforming Dhaka’s growing network of cameras into a smart surveillance system capable of tracking suspects, identifying criminals and strengthening urban security.
Police officials say plans are already underway to expand the system to around 500 strategic locations across the capital within the next six months.
At the same time, authorities are developing a centralized database containing information on more than 100,000 listed criminals and fugitive suspects, laying the groundwork for more advanced forms of digital policing.
The initiative marks one of the most significant attempts yet to integrate artificial intelligence into Bangladesh’s law enforcement infrastructure.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) sources, approximately 80 AI-enabled cameras have so far been installed at 23 traffic signals on a trial basis.
Unlike conventional CCTV cameras that merely record footage, these systems use software-based image analysis to automatically identify specific traffic offences and generate alerts.
DMP Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Md Anisur Rahman said the current system represents only a small portion of a much larger plan.
“Only about 20% of the vision has been implemented so far. There is still a long way to go,” he told Bangla Tribune.
He said the cameras are already proving useful beyond traffic enforcement.
“Everything happening in front of the cameras is being recorded. If a crime occurs, investigators can analyse footage from multiple locations to trace the movements of suspects and vehicles,” he said.
At present, the technology functions largely as a tool for post-crime investigations.
But police officials acknowledge that their long-term objective is to move toward predictive or proactive policing, where technology can help identify persons of interest before criminal incidents occur.
That possibility has brought renewed attention to facial recognition technology.
In theory, if photographs and biometric information of wanted criminals, fugitive suspects or listed militants are integrated into a centralized database, cameras could instantly compare faces captured in public places against those records and generate automatic alerts whenever a match is found.
Such systems are already widely used in countries including China and, under certain circumstances, in the United States and United Kingdom.
Bangladesh, however, has not yet reached that stage.
Additional Inspector General of Police (Crime and Operations) Khandaker Rafiqul Islam said the current project does not include facial recognition capabilities.
“This is primarily a traffic management initiative of the DMP,” he said.
“Technically, identification of criminals through such systems is possible, but the project has not yet advanced to that level.”
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that integrating criminal databases with AI-enabled surveillance systems remains a future possibility.
“If information and images of criminals are incorporated, alerts can be generated whenever they enter a designated area,” he said.
Experts say the technology presents both opportunities and risks.
Dr Touhidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said the project could become a foundation for a broader smart-city security network, incorporating automatic number-plate recognition, suspicious vehicle tracking and crime pattern analysis.
However, he warned that the expansion of AI-driven surveillance must be accompanied by strong legal safeguards, accountability mechanisms and data protection measures.
“The key question is not whether the technology works,” he said.
“The real question is whether Bangladesh can build the legal, institutional and ethical framework necessary to use it responsibly.”
As Dhaka moves toward AI-assisted policing, the cameras watching traffic today may eventually become the eyes of a much larger digital security system -- one that promises greater efficiency but also raises difficult questions about privacy, surveillance and the future relationship between citizens and the state.