Patrol cars are directed towards areas considered high risk based on data analysis.

Crime.fighting in a futuristic settings has been depicted in SciFi movies through robocops or spies equipped with fascinating gadgets, and the world has witnessed a lot that was considered science fiction, turning into reality over the past decade or so. As a country at the forefront of tech adoption in the Middle East, the UAE has actually deployed humanoids in the police force, and recently the first robotic detective received a badge after solving crimes against children.

The police department in cities like Dubai has made waves across the globe, by using facial recognition to nab an international narco kingpin, and for demonstrating how brain waves can be used as a fingerprint on the mind to crack murder cases. In a bid to employ similar capabilities in tne Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, the local police have unveiled AI that can flag the risk of a crime taking place before it even happens, so that cops can move in time to prevent it or to respond to the situation effectively.

Fuelled by visual data from a network of thousands of cameras spread across Abu Dhabi, the machine learning solution scans historical info to zero in on localities which are more likely to witness rising crime or incidents of violence. Patrol cars are directed towards these areas in the city via navigation systems, while cops also get AI-powered recommendations on how to handle a particular situation.

Apart from using the records as well as real-time data of a place for predictive analysis, the system also has the capability of processing information like the age group of people involved in violations. Most of the time crime can be prevented simply by ensuring the presence of a police vehicle in the surroundings.

By processing real-time data quickly, AI makes sure that insights which previously took weeks to develop, are now available to enhance policing in a matter of minutes.

Almost a year after computer vision that flags drivers using phones was introduced in Abu Dhabi, the city now has smart tech for inspection of more than 250,000 vehicles to ensure road safety.