(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- The town of Wuzhen in China's Zhejiang province, near Tongxiang and Jiangxi, has deployed a large number of surveillance devices dubbed 'sky nets' or 'sky eyes,' which are installed with facial recognition systems, in a bid to catch criminals.

Wuzhen is the permanent site of the World Internet Conference, so security is critical. The town has extended its video surveillance network and built a monitoring system to help ramp up management of surveillance, and upped its crime prevention methods by installing facial recognition systems at the entrances and exits of scenic areas in August, state-run China News Service reported, quoting Shen Guohua, an instructor at Wuzhen police, which operates under Tongxiang Public Security Bureau.

Manual video checks by public security workers aren't efficient when it comes to capturing fugitives and operate a low success rate. Comparing video footage with millions of photos to identify a suspect is far from ideal.

Facial recognition systems were installed at key locations, such as high-speed rail stations and passenger transport centers in neighboring Tongxiang and Jiangxi, and Wuzhen scenic areas, this year. With the systems, authorities can instantly locate fugitives' images in real time to greatly reduce the time spent checking videos.

More than 500 surveillance devices in Tongxiang are installed with facial recognitions systems, which have helped the city capture nine criminals since August.