Big Brother-style CCTV cameras could be introduced in Aberdeen to help speed up police inquiries.
BriefCam has been used previously by Aberdeen City Council to aid with traffic management.
And now Police Scotland wants people to tell them how they feel about the software being used for tracing vulnerable people and detecting crime.
The system uses “enhanced search software” to help review large amounts of information more accurately and efficiently, the force says.
Police Scotland says officers could use the technology to help locate missing people and trace suspects, reducing the time they spend making inquiries.
How would it work?
If keywords, such as a description of a person – or a vehicle – are entered, the software can sift through huge amounts of footage to see if there are any matches.
The software can work on live and recorded feeds, which means officers can search CCTV when an incident is still in progress or carry out a retrospective search to look for specific vehicles, objects or people.
Police Scotland has said that although it is capable of facial recognition, that function would be disabled over privacy concerns.
BriefCam would use the existing CCTV system in Aberdeen, which covers the city centre, Rosemount, Torry and Mastrick areas.
Police do not currently use the network and have launched a consultation to gauge public opinion.
Questions in the survey determine if respondents trust Police Scotland, whether they already knew about the technology, and whether they felt safe knowing it was being used in their area.
The survey also asks if using CCTV software would bolster trust and confidence in police.
The new CCTV system will help trace vulnerable people faster
People interested in giving their views have until May 2 before the consultation closes.
The force says that searching CCTV to support police investigations is ordinarily carried out manually and can be “time consuming and open to human error”.
They say that using CCTV object recognition software can “reduce the time burden on our people”.
Chief Inspector Andy Barclay of Police Scotland’s North East Division said: “We are considering whether to begin using an enhanced CCTV system based in Aberdeen city centre.
“The system is designed to deliver more accurate matches and allows real-time searches where an incident is still in progress. This will help Police Scotland officers particularly when they are searching for vulnerable missing people.
“When introducing new technologies in policing we carefully consider human rights and ethical implications and, as part of that, it is important that we seek the views of the public we serve.”
The new BriefCam scheme could follow a successful pilot scheme where officers focused on certain incidents for which there were no witnesses or CCTV footage.
The trial freed up 2,657 police officer hours over 12 weeks, allowing officers to focus on more serious crimes.
To have your say visit the link to take the Police Scotland survey.