If your evenings at home are constantly interrupted by roaming gangs of yobs breaking bottles, setting off car alarms or generally misbehaving, then security camera software designed to listen out for crimes will be music to your ears.

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have launched a three-year project to develop artificial intelligence software that’s able to recognise sounds associated with certain crimes, such as the tinkle of breaking car-window glass.

This software, the researchers hope, could then be integrated into intelligent security cameras able to zoom in and capture the crime as it’s happening.

The software could also be combined with existing artificial intelligence software that’s able to recognise visual patterns, such as dents in cars or someone suddenly raising their arm, say, to smash a car window.

The result could be a camera that’s able to listen out for the sounds and visual patterns of potential crimes. Cameras could then train their lenses on the location in less than one second, ensuring the miscreant is quickly caught on camera.

Register Hardware remains sceptical though, because if the youth is wearing a hoodie and equipped with a motorscooter, then such cameras could still be pretty ineffective.