A new AI system trained to identify knives could help transform how police forces tackle knife crime, UK researchers say.
Knife Hunter, a system developed by the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, can help police forces identify weapons and then trace their origins more quickly.
It has been developed in collaboration with the UK's Metropolitan Police.
The research team said it can allow police to more easily log weapons found, recovered or seized, trace retail or illegal import channels and monitor geographical trends - as well as see reports the system generates on knife crime patterns to help support policing and inform policymaking.
Research project leader Professor Miroslaw Bober, said he hoped the system could be rolled out widely to other police forces and local authorities, having been used in a trial as part of the Met's Operation Spectre, which aims to tackle knife crime.
"For the past three years, we've partnered with the Metropolitan Police to develop a system that we believe could revolutionise how forces across the country tackle knife crime in the not-too-distant future," Bober said.
"Knife Hunter transforms the way police process and analyse images and videos, doing it faster and more efficiently.
"More importantly, it's a major step forward in helping uncover the origins of weapons in our communities.
"Looking ahead, we're excited about the potential for Knife Hunter and similar tools to work hand-in-hand with Police and local communities to create safer streets for everyone."
The system powering Knife Hunter has been trained on a dataset of over 25,000 images of 550 different knife types, and as a result is able to identify even the most subtle distinguishing features of a weapon, regardless of the viewing angle or lighting conditions, the researchers say.
Professor Adrian Hilton, director of the Institute for People-Centred AI, said the project was a timely example of AI technology being used for societal good.