These latest inventions are used to catch criminals across the world

Illustration/Uday Mohite

In the 2002 Steven Spielberg film Minority Report, a specialised police department apprehends criminals based on the foreknowledge of psychics. The protagonist, John Anderton, is accused of a crime he has not committed. While such a scenario may or may not become reality in the future, the police and authorities always have to stay a step ahead of criminals.

The Chinese railway police recently began using glasses equipped with facial recognition, capable of spotting an individual within 100 milliseconds. The glasses are connected to an offline database, which can match passengers with suspected criminals. So far, these have helped to nab seven fugitives and 26 people travelling with fake identities. Here's how tech is being used, or will be used, in other countries to do the same.

Robot cop in Dubai
The Dubai police recently introduced a multi-lingual robot cop with a touchscreen, allowing citizens to report crime, pay traffic fines or talk to an officer. Its in-built cameras stream to the police command centre. Despite people's apprehensions, stemming from imaginations set afire by movies about artificial intelligence, like i, Robot, the police feel otherwise. "It has a smart system to protect people from crime, because it can broadcast what is happening right away to our command and control centre," Brig Khalid Al Razooqi, Dubai Police director general of smart services, was quoted as saying.

Clear immigration within 15 seconds
In future, passengers might be able to clear immigration at Dubai airport in 15 seconds, by walking through a 'smart tunnel', without showing their passport. The General Directorate Of Residency And Foreigners' Affairs Dubai is working on the project. The smart tunnel system uses facial and iris recognition technology. The passenger has to walk through the tunnel for facial recognition and body scanning, and exit without the need for passport control or immigration check at the terminal.

X-Ray vans
Superheroes may have X-ray vision, but the New York Police Department has X-ray vans. Interestingly, it has fought legal battles to hide the details of these X-ray vans that can see through buildings and cars. The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed an amici curiae brief in support of legal action by journalist Michael Grabell, who wants more information about these vehicles. But a state appeals court has ruled that NYPD does not have to share much information about one of its top-secret counter-terrorism programmes with the public. Grabell wrote that the vans use backscatter X-rays, which may expose drivers, passengers and pedestrians to ionizing radiation, increasing the risk of cancer.

Scene in India
>> Dr Rajesh Dhere, professor of forensic medicine at Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and KEM Hospital, says, "Advance forensic tech has made inroads in crime detection and improved the criminal justice functioning abroad. The need of the hour is to have advanced forensic centres here as well."

>> Facial recognition is not the most reliable, but it is one of the most interesting methods available to forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists and forensic scientists in the country currently. In India, we use two dimensions and superimposition. It involves superimposition of the skull and picture and reconstruction of the same to identify the deceased.

Soundwave technology for crowd control
The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device developed by the LRAD Corporation to send messages and warning tones over long distances or at a volume higher than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems are used for long-range communications in a variety of applications, including as a means of non-lethal, non-kinetic crowd control. They have been called "sonic weapons". As its warning tone causes individuals to cover their ears, the LRAD has been used in standoffs to communicate with suspects. It has been used to warn people if they are approaching active shooter events. It has been deployed by the police in Houston, Oakland, Dallas, Chicago and New York. The Delhi Police are said to be purchasing five of these devices for crowd control.

100 kg
Weight of the robot cop

Seven
No. of fugitives recently caught in China with facial recognition glasses

2.5
Kilohertz an LRAD can emit sounds in a 30-60° beam

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates