A police force has produced a map which they claim PREDICTS burglaries in the same way as Tom Cruise’s sci-fi epic Minority Report.
Officers in Havering, a branch of the Metropolitan Police, have taken the unusual step of creating a chart which pinpoints properties most likely to be targeted by crooks next.
Thanks to their revolutionary new scheme, the East London borough has seen a whopping eight-and-a-half per cent drop in burglaries.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rickells said: “Have you seen that film Minority Report? It works like that.”
Officers are using historical crime records and local knowledge to predict where burglars are likely to strike next and step up foot patrols or lay in wait for crooks.
Det Ch Insp Rickells reckons their revolutionary crime-fighting tactics could be rolled out nationwide.
He is also using members of the public, who have a very good knack for recognising faces, to go through photographs of suspects and then join police patrols to try and spot wanted criminals.
Havering Police’s tough stance on burglary is part of the Met’s Operation Bumblebee, which aims to convict more burglars.
Det Ch Insp Rickells said: “Some people are very good at recognising faces.
“We see this every week on Crimewatch. This is a drive to get more arrests.
“I think if we get one suspect now, we stop burglaries in the future.”
In the big-budget 2002 Steven Spielberg film Minority Report, Tom Cruise stars opposite Colin Farrell as a police officer charged with preventing ‘PreCrime.’
The futuristic film is set in a world where crimes are identified before they are even committed, and police officers can arrest people based purely because they are about to break the law.
