New Crime Predictions

    Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new successes in its work on a program to detect criminal intentions in a crowd of people. The program, formerly known as «by Project Hostile" ( «hostile» project ), changed its name to the more neutral technologies on the determination of the Future ( the FAST ) and proven to be effective in the experimental tests.

    During them, a set of sensors, consisting of cameras, infrared sensors and laser scanners, recorded various behavioral parameters of 140 volunteers. Those, in turn, on command began to behave "suspiciously." DHS Research Representative John Verrico says that in 78% of cases, the system identified people as probably dangerous. In a real situation, law enforcement would start working with such a person. FAST equipment is quite mobile and fits into a regular auto trailer, which makes it easy to deploy where you need it.



    In addition to the fact that the project is only a year old, he has already received negative reviews for the fact that he works on the principle of a polygraph, only at a distance. Laser scanners measure heart rate and respiratory rate, while infrared sensors, along with cameras, measure the temperature of certain areas of the body and face. Using such a set in a real crowd excited by an upcoming sports match or concert, the security services run the risk of a huge percentage of false positives, said security expert Bruce Schneier .

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