United Kingdom government is to make available £2m scientific research fund into technology and behavioural science projects that could potentially identify a possible terrorist in crowds. The competition, run by the Home Office and Defence and Security Accelerator, with support from the Royal Society, calls for research proposals on how to reduce the threat from terrorists carrying weapons or explosives.
Security Minister Ben Wallace said: “In light of the horrific attacks in London and Manchester, the Government has committed to review its counter-terror strategy and further to this I am announcing today that we are making up to £2 million available to fund research into cutting edge technology and behavioural science projects designed to keep people safe in crowds.
In the regard, the government is making available the fund to develop what the judge to be the best ideas to reduce the threat from terrorist attacks. The competition hopes to find a way of keeping people safe from attacks by identifying potential threats in crowded places.
The Government hopes the scheme will improve the surveillance and detection of potential threats in crowded spaces.
He will say: "The threat from terror does not stand still so neither will we, which is why we are calling on the best and the brightest from the science and technology sector to come forward with their ideas and proposals to support our ongoing work to keep people safe."
The first part of the competition will be staged by the Defence and Security Accelerator with a focus on ideas to use the crowd as a sensor in public spaces. It comes in response to the recent attacks in London and Manchester and is looking at ways to identify a threat by detecting a crowd’s conscious and sub-conscious reaction, training people to spot threats and enabling the crowd to report threats.
The competition is open from now till 20 September and will provide funds of up to £1 million.
