Pickpockets quickly detected by new technology from TU Eindhoven
Just not paying attention and before you know it you lost your wallet. Pickpockets work smart and convenient. This is often because we are somewhere else with our attention. As a result, we do not notice that someone is taking something out of your pocket.
However, pickpockets often exhibit deviant behavior. At TU Eindhoven they have devised a technique that allows pickpockets to be traced faster, precisely because of this deviant behavior.
Data-correlation
Researchers will analyze data about visitors to the center of Roermond. This city will become one of the testing grounds. The data can be combined and useful information can be extracted from this. Data include number plates, social media messages and camera images. Computers filter out notable cases. An example is a car with a Romanian license plate that parks at the outlet, with four occupants and a device to disturb alarms in shops. This is suspicious. In this way, suspect persons can be approached in a more targeted manner by the police and security guards. The goal is to deter them.
Privacy
The disadvantage of these new techniques is the privacy of visitors to the center. That is why during the test periods, the impact on the privacy of citizens is also carefully examined. Over time it will become clear whether these techniques lead to fewer pickpockets in the city and whether the privacy of people is not jeopardized.