New AI CCTV slashes time to detect armed retail criminals in Australia’s shopping centres
New Australian-made AI security technology promises to revolutionise shopping centre safety by detecting weapons faster than human observers ever could. SEE THE VIDEO
Exclusive: An attacker wielding a knife or gun in a mall can now be detected with Artificial Intelligence in 90 seconds using new locally developed security technology.
In a separate AI-driven breakthrough, shopping centre security teams are able to search live CCTV feeds using eyewitness descriptions of what a suspect is wearing and show the footage to police in real-time.
Within Australia’s retail sector, demand for cutting-edge threat detection capabilities has been on the rise since the horrific stabbing spree at Westfield Bondi Junction last year, in which six people were killed.
And, as highlighted by this masthead’s “Stop Shop Abuse” campaign, mall operators and shop owners are also looking for better ways to protect staff facing a surge in violence and aggression.
AI is emerging as a promising solution to the need for enhanced monitoring and detection.
Watch the exclusive video above.
In May, Australian security company iCetana launched a new product called Triage Agent, which security teams can program to detect weapons and identify suspicious behaviour.
The tool filters out irrelevant footage and provides automated descriptions of flagged events so attention is focused where it is needed.
“It was unimaginable 12 months ago,” iCetana chairman Matt Macfarlane told this masthead.
Currently, control room staff must manually monitor as many as 300 cameras.
“The most a human can probably look at is about 16,” Mr Macfarlane said.
The AI-driven system could detect an attacker wielding a weapon in 45 to 90 seconds, he said.
“This technology is way faster than humans and it doesn’t miss things,” Mr Macfarlane added. “We do believe we are ahead of a lot of our competition internationally,” based on feedback at a recent US trade event.
Triage Agent is still being trialled but Mr Macfarlane said “more than three prospects” want to use it. He wouldn’t name them.
The Perth-based company’s system could not have altered what happened at Bondi Junction, because no-one was in the control room when the attack began.
An inquest has heard that one person had gone to training while the other was on a “bathroom break.”
But another security technology company operating in Australia has developed a system that can be viewed on a mobile phone.
By incorporating AI, the Axon Fusus ‘real-time crime centre’ gives security teams the ability to search CCTV feeds based on eyewitness descriptions.
Axon ANZ managing director Rhys Hodgson said: “If an incident does occur and a potential suspect has been observed wearing certain colours of clothing that can be an early indicator to do a search and match.”
The system is used in the US and was recently switched on at an Auckland mall that Axon declined to name. It is not yet in use in Australia.
Footage from cameras worn by security guards or retail staff can be shared with police provided they also subscribe to the system, Mr Hodgson said.
“So a first responder could see those camera feeds of what’s happening,” he added. “The location aspect of this becomes very appealing as well because Axon body cameras have GPS.”
In the Bondi stabbings, the first officer to respond was pointed to the attacker, Joel Cauchi, by civilians.
Inspector Amy Scott entered the mall by herself two minutes after a call came over her police car radio.
She was directed to Cauchi’s location by two French men, Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux, who had just confronted him.
The pair offered themselves as back-up and followed Insp Scott. One minute later she shot and killed Cauchi as he was running towards her.
Speaking generally, Shopping Centre Council of Australia chief executive Angus Nardi said the use of technology was “critical” to safety.
“Our industry has increasingly rolled-out body-worn cameras for frontline security guards,” Mr Nardi said, “and we are always looking at technologies and arrangements that have real-application in a shopping centre environment but also link in with an operational and police response.”
Westfield’s owner Scentre Group declined to answer specific questions but has previously said it is examining “potential enhancements from around the world … including emerging technologies.”
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Originally published as New AI CCTV slashes time to detect armed retail criminals in Australia’s shopping centres
