CCTV cameras help predict crimes
Updated on 27 November 2008
A Minority Report style CCTV system which helps predict crimes before they actually happen has been installed for the first time in a UK city.
Portsmouth City Council has set up the network of "intelligent" cameras which can alert an operator to suspicious behaviour. The Perceptrak system, produced by Smart CCTV Ltd, is able to spot "unusual" incidents such as somebody loitering or a vehicle travelling too fast.
It then alerts the CCTV operator who can then assess the situation and take appropriate action if they believe a crime has been committed or is about to be.
The system is being set up to watch quiet areas such as car parks, stairwells or corridors in buildings and streets at night-time. This allows a CCTV operator to be able to monitor many more cameras without having to watch every screen simultaneously.
Nick Hewitson, 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."
The system, which has been run successfully in several US cities, including New York, Washington and Chicago, is being provided to Portsmouth for free. The city's CCTV control rooms have 142 cameras with live monitoring, watched 24 hours a day.
Councillor Jason Fazackarley, Portsmouth City Council cabinet member for community safety, said: "This is a fantastic development. It's the 21st century equivalent of a nightwatchman, but unlike a nightwatchman it never blinks, it never takes a break and it never gets bored."
In the film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, crimes are predicted by special CCTV operators.
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