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What Is Predictive Technology In Law Enforcement

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Over the course of the last two decades, intelligence led policing has made a major impact on law enforcement. As its usage has emerged, two sides have formed regarding the implementation of this controversial technology. Proponents of this strategy, including law enforcement agencies and technology companies, have backed the efficient and effective nature of predictive policing. Critics of the technology claim that policing tactics such as predictive algorithms and hotspot monitoring have created more problems than they have solved, and that they have placed a wall between law enforcement and the public. As high-tech crime and cyber-terrorism efforts in the United States continue to rise, questions are being raised over what public transparency …show more content…

Predictive technology used to determine where and when crimes will occur is limited in its capabilities. In his article titled “Predictive Policing Is Not as Predictive As You Think”, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, David O’Connor describes why, in reality, predictive technology may not match the public’s understanding. O’Connor himself writes that the technology is designed to notify police of where crimes are going to occur and at what time. While this sounds like a beneficial resource, the software operates using only data that the police have already collected through phone calls and other reports. Furthermore, the Department of Justice estimates that under one-half of violent crimes, along with even less property crimes, are reported (O’Connor, 2017). Essentially, O’Connor is trying to make the claim that current predictive technology is only a responsive tool that reacts to past crimes. People report crimes, the crimes are recorded by law enforcement, and officers are then sent to areas of high-crime traffic when they are notified of potential activity in these “hotspots”. The technology merely draws conclusions based on data gathered by law enforcement and is thereby susceptible to more human error and bias than what is commonly …show more content…

In an article by Sidney Perkowitz, titled “Should we trust predictive policing software to cut crime?”, Perkowitz questions the integrity of predictive technology and its effect on crime. She mentions that PredPol is one of the only software companies that currently reports comprehensive statistics regarding their effect on crime. Nevertheless, while the numbers reported by the company present its software as a success in cities like Los Angeles, the information is generated by the company itself and is therefore unreliable. In cities like Chicago, where independent studies have been conducted, the results were not as promising. The results showed that the software did not reduce the number of homicides committed, nor did it lower the chances of shooting victimization. Additionally, similar studies in Shreveport, Louisiana have concluded that the software currently being used is not having a significant effect on the property crime rate (Perkowitz, 2016). Perkowitz is insisting that there is not enough evidence to back the effectiveness of predictive software in reducing crime rates. In addition, because of the cases in which predictive software did not affect crime, positive trends in cities like Los Angeles are not representative of the rest of the

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