CCTV designed to spot 'suspicious behaviour'

Having published our report concerning the British Isles’ submergence in CCTV, there is now cause for concern that CCTV will soon being doing more than just watching us. It seems that the prospect of unmanned airborne spy drones is only the begining.

An outfit dedicated to covering the European Security Research Programme named NeoConOptican, reported yesterday that the European Commission are funding a project called Samurai -  a “next generation” CCTV system, which is, they write: 

capable of identifying and tracking individuals “acting suspiciously” in crowded public spaces. The project has received €2.5 million in EU funding under the Fp7 security research programme.

The blurb on the official Samurai project website, makes it clear that their intention is take surveillance to a whole new level:

Existing systems focus on analysing recorded video. SAMURAI is to develop a real-time adaptive behaviour profiling and abnormality detection system for alarm event alert and prediction.

We aim to develop an abnormal detection system based on a heterogeneous sensor network consisting of both fix-positioned CCTV cameras and mobile wearable cameras with audio and positioning sensors.

These networked heterogeneous sensors will function cooperatively to provide enhanced situation awareness.

There we have it. Research into surveillance systems designed to identify and follow unusual behaviour and which are capable of tracking people, vehicles and luggage are being funded by our contributions to the EU.

Let’s picture the future: a spring afternoon, in 2015, silent Drones hover above our head; cameras equipped with the ability to listen to the conversation I am having surround me; images of the Golfing equipment I’m carrying are being sent across the system as possible weapons of mass destruction.

Samurai is just the beginning. The potential is frightening. 

By Edward Hockings 

Comments

[Chris]

Haven't the idiots behind this stuff watched the Terminator movies?

[Purlieu]

This cuts the cost of watching the tapes etc.
One operator can handle multiple feeds since they only get shown the "alert" feed.
When this stuff is deployed perhaps it might need some "enhanced situation awareness" of a different kind.

[andy]

They can f**k right off. As soon as I know there are these type of cameras installed I shall start acting "suspiciously" just to waste their time. ctually that's the only way to defeat this bunch of authoritarian bastards - drown them in leads - put the words bomb into every email, phone call, text you send - they'll never cope! They need to get that we're free, british and unafraid - and they can fuck right off with their little hitler stasi approach to policing - Peel knew that policig could only work with our co-operation - time to withdraw same and see how they get on

[Purlieu]

Indeed, whose world is it anyway ?

[ZacS]

One would assume placing BBW stickers is suspicious? XD

[zorro]

It's like a slow motion car crash (well...not so slow it seems)...the insidious growth of more 'intelligent' surveillance all to be used as a means of control,to make people conform, be more malleable, be thankful for what they have, and worry about what can so easily be taken away from them.

Soon it will become difficult to live without being traceable....and cash will eventually disappear and you will have a credit/debit card loaded with funny money to enable you to live.

....until you have a problem or someone thinks you're a problem and then your card will no longer work.....

[Observant]

The British authorities must be gutted that the hornets' nests they've stirred up in Iraq and Afgahnistan haven't born fruit in the hoped-for revenge terror attacks on the UK mainland.
The distinct lack of any reprisals by Muslim extremists must be galling indeed for Brown & Co., since it makes it rather obvious which section of the population they're REALLY spying on.

[redacted]

@zorro

Exactly. Every individual life will have a remote-controlled off switch belonging exclusively to the government of the day.

It has always been the case that if they really don't like you, they will probably get you. But these technologies just make it very easy and convenient to coerce large masses of individual people and extends that destructive power to anyone with a network connection and a grudge, not just an accountable minority.

The concepts of "enough" and "too much" need to be openly discussed, in my opinion. Just because you can, it doesn't mean you must.

[Luawaving]

Sadly I am becoming defeated by all this so-called enhanced security... However much we rage against the machine I still feel I'm going to be crushed by it. As soon as some survellance technology is challenged for invading privacy and human rights, such as the dna database, something emerges in it's place...the hyra cannot be beaten. The revolution will be televised. Closely.

[Specky]

There was a UFO story in the sensational press a few years ago.
Image looked like a drone to me.
I think their using these drones already.
But only Intelligence agencies at the moment.
What happens when one falls out of the sky and kills someone.
Injury lawyers for you ?

[Margaret McMahon]

This is unbelievable....when people look up at these things floating around in the sky and searching for whatever, will a big 'plop' fall out of the sky and hit them in the face or land on their fav white jeans? Let's face it, this is all too ridiculous for words!

[Air Jordan 11]

I would still know the way
That would lead me back to your side.
The North Star may die.