Pre-crime detector field tested!
WASHINGTON - May 31, 2011 - Planning a sojourn in the northeastern United States? You could soon be taking part in a novel security program that can supposedly “sense” whether you are planning to commit a crime.
Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program designed to spot people who are intending to commit a terrorist act, has in the past few months completed its first round of field tests at an undisclosed location in the northeast.
Like a lie detector, FAST measures a variety of physiological indicators, ranging from heart rate to the steadiness of a person's gaze, to judge a subject's state of mind. But there are major differences from the polygraph. FAST relies on non-contact sensors, so it can measure indicators as someone walks through a corridor at an airport, and it does not depend on active questioning of the subject.
The tactic has drawn comparisons with the science-fiction concept of “pre-crime”, popularized by the film Minority Report, in which security services can detect someone's intention to commit a crime. But the program has attracted copious criticism from researchers who question the science behind it
So far, FAST has only been tested in the lab, so successful field tests could lend some much-needed data to support the technology.
In lab tests, the DHS has claimed accuracy rates of around 70%, but it remains unclear whether the system will perform better or worse in field trials. "The results are still being analyzed, so we cannot yet comment on performance," says John Verrico, a spokesman for the DHS. "Since this is an ongoing scientific study, tests will continue throughout coming months."
Some scientists question whether there really are unique signatures for malintent - the agency's term for the intention to cause harm - that can be differentiated from the normal anxieties of travel. Having an iris scan or fingerprint read at immigration is enough to raise the heart rate of most legitimate travelers.
As for where precisely FAST is being tested, for now that remains a closely guarded secret. The DHS says that although the first round was completed at the end of March, more testing is in the works, and the agency is concerned that letting people know where the tests are taking place could affect the outcome. "I can tell you that it is not an airport, but it is a large venue that is a suitable substitute for an operational setting," says Verrico.
