Stefan Mileschin

Inspector Knacker of the Metropolitan Police has splashed out on some software which, it is claimed, will forecast where offenders will strike next.

The Metro has waxed ever so lyrically that the software is exactly what Tom Cruise used in the hit flick Minority Report. Of course, it doesn't wire psychics into a mainframe. Actually the report is about a computer algorithm which looks at crime statistics and criminal behaviour models to produce 'predictive areas' where burglars and muggers are likely to target.

This means cops can increase patrols in areas perceived to be at risk. According to the Met, when the idea was tried in Manchester, street violence dropped by 26 percent.

The software can predict that a spot, no larger than 250 yards across, is likely to become a crime scene.

A pilot scheme saw 'significant reductions' in burglaries in Hackney, Wandsworth, Newham and Lewisham and the police think that the computer algorithms are 'seven times more accurate than chance'.

http://news.techeye.net/security/met...ctive-software