New tech system to detect prison fights, multi-use wrist tags for inmates rolled out in Singapore
‘Avatar’ monitors whether a fight is about to break out so guards don’t just have to rely on tip-offs or real time surveillance footage
By Faris Mokhtar
Fights in Singapore’s prison cells are rare, but they do occur. Intervening early so that arguments do not escalate into brawls is the best move, and authorities there are testing a new surveillance system at Changi Prison to support their work in this area.
The system, called Avatar, uses video analytics that is backed by an algorithm to detect the “high intensity, erratic motions” of inmates, which could signal that trouble is brewing. When this happens, an alarm will sound, allowing prison officers to rush to the scene quickly before a fight starts.
Before this, officers detected fights by monitoring real-time footages from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the cells, or from tip-offs by other inmates.
Avatar is now on trial at one prison cell, which houses inmates temporarily before they are moved to permanent cells. It is among the latest technology that is being tested in Changi Prison as part of the “prisons without guards” concept, first announced by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) in April last year.
To turn this concept into a reality, investing heavily in technology is key, given the manpower crunch that Singapore faces.