[T]echnology in Sydney, Australia will make it much more difficult for graffiti artists to tag up trains. A new technology labeled “Mousetrap” was recently beta-tested in the country. The carriages can sense fumes in the air, right down to a pen, a marker or paint. The information is sent back to a central command, where police can view the offender in real time.
“So our new operation, Mousetrap, is what it says it does. It detects, covertly, people vandalizing our trains,” said Sydney Trains CEO, Howard Collins.
Since Mousetrap was deployed last year, over 50 people have been arrested for vandalism. It is so effective because police officers can also receive information in real-time.
“The strength of the system is the fact security personnel or police can monitor the system in the field with a mobile phone,” said Mark Beyers, the CEO of Technique Risk, the company the created the tech. “The information that they receive is the train or carriage number, the location the event is occurring and also where that train is going to.”
