MOVIES BECOMING REALITY: SCIENTIST DEVELOP CCTV THAT DETECTS CRIME BEFORE IT HAPPENS

High-tech 'fight cameras' which can automatically alert police when violence is about to break out on busy streets are being developed by British scientists.

The crime-fighting CCTV system will use sophisticated software to predict when a fight will happen - by analysing crowd movements and triggering an alert as fists are about to fly.

Police say the the groundbreaking surveillance technology could help them detect crime 'before it happens' - much like the pre-crime unit featured in the Steven Spielberg sci-fi film Minority Report
Developed by scientists at the Violence & Society Research Group at Cardiff University, the imaging technology alerts CCTV operators and police officers when fights are detected on city centre cameras.'Developing smart camera technology that can pinpoint violence is a really cost effective way of helping police to do their jobs,' said Professor Simon Moore.

'Officers can't monitor hundreds of city centre CCTV cameras all the time.'By using imaging technology, officers will be alerted to violence hotspots in real-time, helping to further reduce violence.

'It's a great way of using technology to make the streets safer for all of us.'It comes amid a surge in violent crime in England and Wales, with the number of incidents soaring by 16 per cent to nearly 700,000 incidents in figures released last month.According to Home Office estimates, the average violence incident costs more than £33,000 ($50,700), including NHS and criminal justice costs and lost working hours.