(Photo: Channel 4)
Hunted is a new reality TV show in the United Kingdom. Contestants are given about $700 in cash each and a one hour head start. Their task is to disappear for a full 28 days. During that time, top detectives and investigators will search for them using the modern tools of surveillance. The Daily Telegraph reports that these investigators know their business:
The leader of the 30-strong team of investigators, for instance, was a former head of counter-terrorism for the City of London Police. At his disposal were technologies normally accessible only by the authorities – CCTV tracking, number plate recognition systems and the like. Among the men and women under his command were former spooks, intelligence analysts, covert operatives, cyber security experts and psychological profilers. Even a former CIA pattern analyst who played a role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
The first episode aired on September 10. Some contestants did better than others:
Dr Ricky Allen, a GP from Canterbury, had an almost preternatural ability to second-guess his pursuers. When his motorbike was detected by a motorway monitoring system, a quick change to a pre-borrowed car had his pursuers stumped for days. Others slipped through the net more by gritty good fortune than design, although one couple, after days on the run naively used an ATM to withdraw cash and were pounced on within the hour.
Here's a trailer for the show.
Could you evade government detection in your own country for 28 days? If so, how?
-via Ace of Spades HQ
but the system/s still relies on the "human" operator/s and the fact nothing is 100% foolproof