High-tech crime-fighting toots

A. Crime-fighting technology is getting more sophisticated and rightly so. The police
need to be equipped for the 21st century. In Britain we've already got the world's
biggest DNA database. By next year the state will have access to the genetic data
of 4.25m people: one British-based person in 14. Hundreds of thousands of those
on the database will never have been charged with a crime.

B. Britain is also reported to have more than £4 million CCTV (closed circuit television)
cameras. There is a continuing debate about the effectiveness of CCTV. Some
evidence suggests that it is helpful in reducing shoplifting and car crime. It has also
been used to successfully identify terrorists and murderers. However, many claim
that better lighting is just as effective to prevent crime and that cameras could
displace crime. An internal police report said that only one crime was solved for
every 1,000 cameras in London in 2007. In short, there is conflicting evidence about
the effectiveness of cameras, so it is likely that the debate will continue.

C. Professor Mike Press, who has spent the past decade studying how design can
contribute to crime reduction, said that, in order for CCTV to have any effect, it must
be used in a targeted way. For example, a scheme in Manchester records every
licence plate at the entrance of shopping complex and alerts police when one is
found to belong to an untaxed or stolen car. This is an effective example of
monitoring, he said. Most schemes that simply record city centres continually - often
not being watched - do not produce results. CCTV can also have the opposite effect
of that intended, by giving citizens a false sense of security and encouraging them
to be careless with property and personal safety. Professor Press said: 'All the
evidence suggests that CCTV alone makes no positive impact on crime reduction
and prevention at all. The weight of evidence would suggest the investment is more
or less a waste of money unless you have lots of other things in place.' He believes
that much of the increase is driven by the marketing efforts of security companies
who promote the crime-reducing benefits of their products. He described it as a
'lazy approach to crime prevention' and said that authorities should instead be
focusing on how to alter the environment to reduce crime.

D. But in reality, this is not what is happening. Instead, police are considering using
more technology. Police forces have recently begun experimenting with cameras in
their helmets. The footage wilt be stored on police computers, along with the
footage from thousands of CCTV cameras and millions of pictures from
numberplate recognition cameras used increasingly to check up on motorists.

E. And now another type of technology is being introduced. It's called the Microdrone
and it's a toy-sized remote-control craft that hovers above streets or crowds to film
what's going on beneath. The Microdrone has already been used to monitor rock
festivals, but its supplier has also been in discussions to supply it to the
Metropolitan Police, and Soca, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The drones
are small enough to be unnoticed by people on the ground when they are flying at
350ft. They contain high-resolution video surveillance equipment and an infrared
 night vision capability, so even in darkness they give their operators a bird's-eye
view of locations while remaining virtually undetectable.

F. The worrying thing is, who will get access to this technology? Merseyside police are
already employing two of the devices as part of a pilot scheme to watch football
crowds and city parks looking for antisocial behaviour. It is not just about crime
detection: West Midlands fire brigade is about to lease a drone, for example, to get
a better view of fire and flood scenes and aid rescue attempts; the Environment
Agency is considering their use for monitoring of illegal fly tipping and oil spills. The
company that makes the drone says it has no plans to License the equipment to
individuals or private companies, which hopefully will prevent private security firms
from getting their hands on them. But what about local authorities? In theory, this
technology could be used against motorists. And where will the surveillance society
end? Already there are plans to introduce 'smart water' containing a unique DNA
code identifier that when sprayed on a suspect will cling to their clothes and skin
and allow officers to identify them later. As long as high-tech tools are being used in
the fight against crime and terrorism, fine. But if it's another weapon to be used to
invade our privacy then we don't want it.

Glossary:
drone: a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft
350ft: about 107 meters
bird's eye view: a view from above
fly-tipping: illegally dumping waste (British English)

Questions 1-5
Reading Passage has six paragraphs of A-F.
Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-F from the list of headings below.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.
List of Headings

I The spy in the sky

Ii The spread of technology

Iii The limitations of cameras

Iv The cost of cameras

v Robots solving serious crimes

vi Lack of conclusive evidence

vii Cars and cameras

viii Advantages and disadvantages

ix A natural progression
x A feeling of safety

Paragraph Aix

1Paragraph B ..........
2Paragraph C ..........
3Paragraph D ..........
4Paragraph E ..........
5Paragraph F ..........
Questions 6-8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answres in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet.

6Britain has already got

more data about DNA than any other country.

the most sophisticated crime-fighting technology.

access to the genetic data of one in fourteen people living in Britain.

7Professor Press
works at the University of Manchester.

studies car-related crime.

is concerned about the negative impact of the use of CCTV.

feels that some marketing departments lie about the crime-reducing benefits of CCTV.

8The Microdrone is
a type of toy in the shape of a plane.

being used by the Metropolitan Police.

being used by the government.

able to film in the dark.

Questions 9 and 10
Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for your answer.

In boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet, write

YESif the statement agrees with the writer's claims