Britain to launch new game with the intent of catching real life criminals

A new trial project is about to be launched in Stratford upon Avon in the UK which will enable business owners the opportunity to have their live CCTV footage aired on the Internet.

Members of the public are going to be invited to scan the footage to see if they can help spot crimes and catch criminals and if they do, there are cash prizes on offer as a reward.

If the trail project is successful then we could see the scheme rolled out to the rest of Britain with scores of cameras located in town centres, shops, businesses and anywhere else uploaded to the web for public scrutiny.

‘Internet Eyes’ as the project is called could potentially attract budding cyber sleuths from all over the globe all with the intent of catching criminals on the 4.2 million security cameras in Britain at the moment.

The strange thing is the whole thing is being promoted not so much as a crime stopping tool but as a game.

Yes, a game in which the public are the players and they can collect points by watching the cameras and clicking a button every time they see something they believe is suspicious.

You also lose points if you report something as a crime which turns out not to be.

If a crime or a possible crime is reported, those controlling the cameras will then be sent a text message and an image of the particular footage that was deemed suspicious and they will then decide if they are going to take action or not.

Feedback is important so of course any ‘player’ who reports a possible crime will be sent an email to let them know if indeed a crime had taken place.

Each month, the player that catches the most criminals will be awarded a whopping £1000 prize. An image gallery of all the criminals will also be posted on the site along with the player that caught them.

If you’re wondering where the money is coming from to pay out the prizes, then those who want their footage up on the Net will be charged a fee to have it there.

Not surprisingly all things considered, not everyone thinks it’s a good idea, civil liberties campaigners in particular are outraged calling it “an appalling idea for a game” and that it should be “nipped in the bud immediately”.

I’m kind of inclined to agree.

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