UK City Uses Minority Report Style Cameras to Predict Crime

Given the current state of economic affairs in the UK I doubt highly if there is enough money to pay law enforcement to show up at every potential pre-crime scene.  Perhaps they can work a deal for a multi-policy discount and hire organized thug companies like Blackwater or Dyncorp to do the dirty work.

Source: money.co.uk

‘Minority Report’ style surveillance technology is soon to be used to fight crime in the UK.

Intelligent cameras that predict when a crime is going to be committed are set to be installed across the costal city of Portsmouth.

The system, supplied by Smart CCTV Ltd, employs an advanced combination of behaviour recognition software and state of the art surveillance cameras to identify potential troublemakers and alert the authorities.

Perceptrak, as the cameras are know, use 18 different pre-programmed criteria such as ‘fast car’ and ‘converging people’ to assess real time images and pinpoint potential disturbances. If warning signs are identified, the camera sends an alert to a control room and the security staff on duty are then able to use their judgment to decide whether the activity detected warrants a response.

The system has already been successfully trialed in New York, Washington and Chicago, enabling security staff to identify and respond to a potential situation much faster than would otherwise be possible.

Speaking to the Metro, Managing Director of Smart CCTV said: “Although we are a long way off Minority Report, it is a step closer.

“It is able to alert the operator to something that might be interesting such as a guy hanging around or somebody running. But what it cannot do is say whether that guy is waiting for his girlfriend or about to commit a crime. That is for the operator to make a subjective human decision on and make an appropriate response.

“The software is able to filter out all the boring information and gives the security operator alerts on things that might be interesting.”

Portsmouth currently has 142 CCTV cameras in operation across the city, only 24 of which can be monitored by an operator at any one time. The new technology will ensure that any suspicious activity is brought to the operator’s attention immediately, helping to make the city a safer place for all of its residents.

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