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Government CIO Outlook | Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Predictive policing can help police officers in effectively preventing crime and forecasting future offences.
FREMONT, CA: The application of predictive analytics based on mathematical models and other analytical approaches in law enforcement to identify possible criminal activity is known as predictive policing. On the other hand, predictive policing uses computer systems to analyze enormous volumes of data to help police officers select where to deploy officers or to identify those who are more likely to perpetrate or be victims of crime.
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Predictive policing has two main applications. The first is the use of arrest data to forecast crime hotspots around the state. Second, social media data can be utilized to assess the likelihood of someone committing a crime. Unexpectedly large amounts of publicly available personal data pave the door to more intrusive forms of predictive policing. Not only does the widespread availability of facial photos allow for more intrusive CCTV camera use, but data on internet behavior could lead to individual profiling and risk evaluations.
Advantages of predictive policing:
Eliminating crime
[vendor_logo_first]Predictive policing is quite effective at deterring crime. Predictive policing, for example, appears to have resulted in a 19 percent drop in burglaries in Santa Cruz, California, over six months. The technology used an algorithm and validated crime data to forecast future offences in 500-square-foot areas. The police would then be given hotspot maps, which would show the high-risk areas. Officers would pass through such places when they didn't have any other calls to attend. They were not ordered or assigned to police the sites; it was part of their standard extra checks.
Better decision-making
Computer data analytics can supply a wealth of data. According to its proponents, predictive policing could contribute to more objective decision-making, preventing police personnel from making unsubstantiated decisions based on bias rather than evidence. According to the US Attorney General, data-driven policing has the potential to be revolutionary. The Attorney General has been able to move Camden, New Jersey, off the top of the list as America's most dangerous city by adopting predictive technologies. They cut homicides by 41 percent and overall crime by 26 percent in the city.
Advanced justice system
Predictive policing could help to eliminate some inconsistencies in law enforcement by encouraging decision-making based on factual evidence. Compared to maps created by humans, algorithm-generated crime hot spot maps do not rely on bias. Algorithms may assist police officers in better predicting dangers, determining the identity of offenders, and identifying the vulnerabilities of a community and its inhabitants. This potential can only be realized if the algorithm is genuinely bias-free, which is not always the case.
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