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The technology, being developed by University of Portsmouth scientists, would allow cameras to "hear" violent sounds and react, swiveling quickly in the direction of a broken window or somebody shouting abusively for example, before alerting an operator.

The artificial intelligence powering the camera would also be able to respond to visual cues such as fights, or violent behaviour.

Scientists say the aim is to allow the camera to react just as a human might, hearing a scream and then swinging around to find the source with the same speed as a person, which is about 300 milliseconds.

Over time, the scientists claim the AI algorithms would learn, picking up key words and phrases it associates with criminal activity.

"The longer artificial intelligence is in the software the more it learns. Later versions will

Fuzzy thinking

Brown says the foundation of the technology is a new type of fuzzy logic: "In identifying sound we are looking for the shapes of sound. In the same way, if you close your eyes, you can trace the shape of a physical object and 'read' its profile with your hand we are developing shapes of sound so the software recognises them.

"The software will use an artificial intelligence template for the waveform of sound shapes and if the shape isn't an exact fit, use fuzzy logic to determine what the sound is. For example, different types of glass will all have slightly different waveforms of sound when they smash but they will have the same generic shape which can be read using fuzzy logic.

"It's a very fast, real-time method of identifying sounds."

While there are clearly privacy implications inherent in the technology, Brown claims the AI will be trained "to only listen for specific words associated with violence, not full conversations."

However, is this hardly likely to calm privacy advocates already concerned with the growing number of CCTV camera in the UK, and their potential uses.

At the moment the AI is in research stage, though scientists have been given a three-year grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to further develop it.