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Ready for RoboCar? Self-driving police vehicles could take criminals straight to the cop shop

A patent filed by Motorola reveals autonomous police cars could breathalyse criminals and even call lawyers

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Criminals could be driven straight to police stations by autonomous cop cars, thanks to new patented technology.

The tech would take over once officers had arrested a person and put them in the vehicle.

Like something out of the futuristic action film RoboCop, the driverless police cars dreamt up by technology firm Motorola would also be able to breathalyse those detained in the vehicle if necessary, as well as sort out the processing admin via a video feed while en route to the local police station.

(Motorola)

Further still, the tech – filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and labelled as a ‘mobile law enforcement communication system and method’ – would even call a criminal’s lawyer for them, and let the detainee pay for their bail via a card, unlocking the vehicle to free them.

Camera technology fitted to the car can also ‘mugshot’ the suspect on the scene and automatically search databases to match them with any previous criminal records.

On top of this, it will even be able to assist officers by ‘screening’ the detainee for drugs and weapons. If anything illegal is found, it can then apply to a judge for a warrant so police can search the detainee’s home or their vehicle.

Motorola has patented the technology to speed up arrests for minor crimes, although it’s uncertain if or when it will see the light of day. The patent didn’t reveal if the cars would need to be designed from the outset to support the technology or if it could be fitted retrospectively either.

The document states: ‘The ability to have search warrants approved while the detainee is located in the vehicle saves considerable time and minimises disruption in preserving evidence.’

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