Areas in Berlin with particularly high crime rates are to be monitored in the future using artificial intelligence (AI). The system will initially be installed at Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg, Berlin police announced on Thursday. After an approximately four-week configuration phase, the pilot project will enter its testing phase. Further crime hotspots in Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Mitte will be added later.
According to police, the system uses what is known as semantic and spatial AI. This allows it to detect not only that something is moving, but also how objects or people are moving in relation to one another. “For example, the system can recognise whether a person has fallen or whether a football has been kicked,” police said. This is intended to generate fewer false alerts.
The AI is designed, among other things, to alert police to situations involving violence. “With the AI system, the alert is displayed on a screen that is generally inactive/black and is only activated when an event detected by the AI occurs (event-based operation),” police said. The protection of personal rights will be taken into account. Sensitive areas such as entrances to residential buildings and window fronts will be obscured.
“Berlin Police are facing the challenge of ensuring the high level of security that is necessary with limited personnel resources,” Police President Barbara Slowik Meisel said. At the same time, the police force is dealing with a growing number of responsibilities.“Only by using modern technologies will we be able to ensure the protection of the people in this city in the future,” she said.
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