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Pre-Crime in the UK: Businesses Crowdsource a Watch List (arstechnica.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the better-hope-you-don't-look-suspicious dept.

Press2ToContinue writes: In the film Minority Report, people are rounded up by the Precrime police agency before they actually commit the crime. In the movie, this pre-crime information is provided by 'pre-cognition' savants floating in a goopy nutrient bath who can apparently see the future. Replace those gibbering pre-cog mutants with Facewatch. It's a system that lets retailers, publicans, and restaurateurs share private video footage with the police and each other. It is integrated with real-time face recognition systems, such as NEC's NeoFace. Where previously a member of staff had to keep an eye out for people, on the crowdsourced Facewatch watch list, now the system can automatically tell you if someone on the watch list has just entered the premises. A member of staff can then keep an eye on that person, or ask them politely (or not) to leave.

3 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. Better then LA pre_crime where then get you for by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Better then LA pre_crime where then get you for per Prostitution just for driving down a road.

  2. Seems Fine To Me by Assoluto · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If somebody has a history of shoplifting, keeping an eye on that person when they're in your store seems perfectly sensible to me.

    I also have to wonder why half the article was about Minority Report when there are few similarities between pre-crime and this system. In Minority Report arrests were based on information from the future, while this system is based on past information. In Minority Report people were arrested and charged for crimes they had yet to commit, while this system simply gives stores better information on which customers they need to keep an eye on. The differences are so pronounced I fail to see why Minority Report even needed to be mentioned.

    1. Re:Seems Fine To Me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You know we've been able to share information about habitual shoplifters for literal centuries, right? Retailers, since the dawn of time, have shared information with each other about who's likely to steal what.

      The problem with a system like this is it's not backed up by any real veracity - Back in the day you knew to watch Ol' Thieving Bob because three other shop-keeps had told you about his escapades (and maybe you ignored one of them at first because you knew he'd always had it out for Bob to begin with), now the only thing telling you to watch him is database entry number #2514152.

      Was Bob put on the database because he lifted £3,000 worth of electrical goods in an afternoon? Or is he on it because he pissed off the wrong ASDA employee? Keep in mind that Facewatch doesn't demand an actual criminal conviction.

      Personally, I don't want to be stalked by security or barred from every major retailer in the county just because, for instance, my girlfriend's ex has a chip on his shoulder and a position as security guard.

      Systems like this might not be as evil as some people suggest, but they most definitely shift the balance of power far too heavily away from the consumer.