Police officers could be on patrol with a humanoid “robocop” for a partner within three to five years, a policing expert has said.
Up to 1,000 British officers are to be polled on whether they would trust artificial intelligence-powered robots to work alongside them. It could mean them acting as “service” droids to assist members of the public with queries, or as “crime-fighting” machines that could chase and apprehend suspects.
Researchers also want to gauge how supportive police would be of using military-style “smart” helmets that could help them track down and identify suspects, record video and share information.
The prospect may conjure up images from the classic 1980s dystopian sci-fi film RoboCop, in which a dead police officer is reanimated to become a brutally efficient crime-fighting cyborg.
Experts claim robotic police officers are well on their way to becoming reality as police forces around the world grapple with a shortfall of officers.
Peter Weller as the murdered Detroit police officer Alex Murphy in RoboCop
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Ivan Sun, a professor in the department of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, said of robotic police officers at a science conference this week: “Engaging in the use of force, engaging in high-speed chases — it’s not in our imagination, it’s coming up … The sky is really the limit.”
In a presentation entitled “Robot Cops on Patrol: The Next Generation of Operational Policing” at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Phoenix, Arizona, he added: “In a robbery, for instance, [robots] could really take control of the scene. They could chase you for five miles and they won’t get tired. At the same time, while they are chasing the suspect, they can scan the suspect’s bio and characteristics … From 100m away they can know if [the suspect] has a weapon in their possession. A human officer would not be able to do that.”
Police forces in China have already tested sending humanoid robots — those that have a human form and walk upright on two legs — out on patrol with human officers to gauge public reaction.
A police robot interacts with citizens in Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong province
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Under a project named “Intelligent Police Unit R001”, a number of Chinese forces have begun formally deploying artificially intelligent robots for traffic control. They are designed to issue warnings to drivers who jump red lights and cyclists who ride on pavements. They can even issue fines.
Xavier is a form of wheeled robot officer in Singapore that patrols public places for signs of “undesirable social behaviours”, such as smoking or improperly parked bicycles.
Sun said it would only take another three to five years for robotic officers to be out on full patrols in China, and predicted that Britain and other western countries would follow suit, albeit with greater concerns about privacy and safety. “My prediction is that it is coming very quickly,” he said.
Sun is working with academics at Northumbria University to poll between 500 and 1,000 British officers. They will be shown two pieces of animated video featuring a cartoon robot police officer and asked how acceptable they find the use of robots in those situations.
In the first scenario, a robot in a police uniform is shown patrolling a busy outdoor public place. It detects and follows the sound of crying and finds a lost child. It contacts police headquarters and stays to reassure the child until help arrives, telling her: “Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you and keep you safe.”
In the second scenario, a robot with a more intimidating design is shown scanning a man in a dark alleyway before the words “suspect confirmed” flash up on its visor. It declares “stop right there, do not move”, before pursuing the man and sending live tracking of the pursuit to police colleagues.
Officers in China showed support for both styles of robot, with a preference for the crime-fighting variety.
Robots can “reduce the danger and unpredictability” in potentially violent situations in a similar way to how they are sent in to make initial checks when suspected bombs are found, Sun said.
A study published by Sun in the Asian Journal of Criminology noted: “Amidst intensifying demands on law enforcement and the growing complexity of crime, jurisdictions worldwide have begun integrating artificial intelligence-powered robots into policing operations. Countries such as China, the USA, Singapore and the UAE have piloted robotic systems with varying degrees of autonomy, often incorporating technologies such as facial recognition and predictive algorithms.”
Sun said he suspected that British officers would “pay more attention to privacy issues and legal issues than the Chinese officers”, who operate in a more authoritarian society, but said he felt they would still back the use of AI and robotics in policing.