Law Enforcement Wants To Try 'Predictive Policing' 377
Harperdog with this excerpt from a story about using statistics to fight crime:
"It’s great when cops catch criminals after they've done their dirty work. But what if police could stop a crime before it was even committed? Though that may sound like a fantasy straight from a Philip K. Dick novel, it's a goal police departments from Los Angeles to Memphis are actively pursuing with help from the Department of Justice and a handful of cutting-edge academics. It's called 'predictive policing.' The idea: Although no one can foresee individual crimes, it is possible to forecast patterns of where and when homes are likely to be burgled or cars stolen by analyzing truckloads of past crime reports and other data with sophisticated computer algorithms. 'We know where crime has occurred in the last month, but that doesn't mean it'll be there next month,' Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Sean Malinowski says. 'The only way for us to continue to have crime reduction is to start anticipating where crime is going to occur.'"
a bunch of colored balls (Score:4, Funny)
Re:They're spending a lot of money on this? (Score:4, Funny)
No, that would be profiling. And we all know that is frowned upon these days.
Re:What next? Predictive arresting? (Score:2, Funny)
Sounds like something Scalia would support
Re:Fuck you (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Stopping a crime is a great idea (Score:5, Funny)
Re:They're spending a lot of money on this? (Score:2, Funny)
Are they spending a lot of money for a fancy computer system that will tell them to watch out for crime in the crime ridden part of town?
Yes, they are.
And, if the computer algorithms are any good, it will also show that shoplifting from grocery stores is on the rise in the week prior to Thankgiving and packages burgled from automobiles in retail store parking lots is very high between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Spending money to research the blatantly obvious is an American tradition.
In the same way that beating down any new idea by pointing out the most obvious potential flaws (as if the designer of a new system has no possible way of seeing that flaw himself) is a Slashdot tradition.
Re:They're spending a lot of money on this? (Score:5, Funny)
I was just walking along with a crowbar in my hand, and the pig stopped me and started hassling me about why there are 5 cars with busted windows just down the street from me.
Clearly, I was profiled because I'm black.
Re:They're spending a lot of money on this? (Score:5, Funny)
Spending money to research the blatantly obvious is an American tradition.
Can you cite any research that supports that claim?