Brain scans could call out cheats

Brain scans could soon be used to catch out benefit cheats, The Daily Mail reports.

Imaging and other aspects of neuroscience could also be used to assess the public risk posed by convicted criminals, a report has suggested.

According to The Telegraph, researchers led by Prof Nicholas Mackintosh, of Cambridge University, said brain imaging technology is not quite sophisticated enough for these purposes, but could soon be fit for use.

However, it would be dangerous to bring such techniques into the courtroom as a "lie detector" because the technology is easy to trick and juries may be too easily influenced by the evidence, they added in a new report, “Brain Waves Module 4: Neuroscience and the Law”.

The study concludes that brain scans cannot identify would-be murderers, and there is no gene that will inevitably turn a person into a violent psychopath, BioScholar notes.

However, the report does accept that neuro-imaging and genetics may one day contribute to risk assessments in sentencing and probation decisions.