A prison in northern China is preparing to link each of its jail cells to an artificial intelligence (AI) network to monitor prisoners and thwart escape attempts and other illegal behaviors.

According to reports, the Yancheng prison in Yanjiao, Hebei province, which is home to a number of high-profile prisoners, will install an AI-based network that recognizes inmates and tracks their movements throughout the prison 24/7. Using technology developed by Tianjin University and surveillance tech firm Tiandy, the prison will be outfitted with surveillance cameras and hidden sensors that gather data and feed it into a central hub where an AI-powered computer will create daily inmate reports. Those daily inmate reports will be developed based on an analysis of prisoner movements and facial recognition technology cameras that can track up to 200 faces at once. When suspicious behavior is detected, an alert is sent to prison guards.

“If an inmate has been spotted pacing up and down in a room for some time, the machine may regard the phenomenon as suspicious and suggest close-up check with a human guard,” project representative Meng Qingbiao said.

Noting that the inmates will not be able to escape the surveillance system, Qingbiao added “…the prisoners might be able to blend in the crowd in a packed corridor, busy canteen, exercise session or even massive brawl, but they will never be able to slip away completely."

In addition to monitoring prisoners, the technology could also be used as a check against prison guards to determine how the guards treat prisoners or to capture suspicious behaviors such as guards accepting bribes to help prisoners escape.

No stranger to high-tech surveillance, China is steadily growing its use of AI and facial recognition technology whether to capture misdeeds in restaurant kitchens, to prevent jaywalking or to nab criminal suspects attending concerts or beer festivals.