Page 25 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

With new technology, new business processes, and new algorithms, predictive policing is based

on directed, information-based patrol; rapid response supported by fact-based prepositioning of
assets; and proactive, intelligence-based tactics, strategy, and policy. The predictive-policing era
promises measurable results, including crime reduction; more efficient police agencies; and

modern, innovative policing.

The term ―predictive policing‖ refers to computer systems that use data to forecast where
crime will happen or who will be involved. Some tools produce maps of anticipated crime
―hot spots,‖ while others score and flag people deemed most likely to be involved in crime

or violence.

Effectiveness:

The effectiveness of predictive policing was recently tested by the Los Angeles Police

Department (LAPD), which found its accuracy to be twice that of its current practices. In Santa
Cruz, California, the implementation of predictive policing over a 6-month period resulted in a 19
percent drop in the number of burglaries. In Kent, 8.5 percent of all street crime occurred in

locations predicted by Pred Pol, beating the 5 percent from police analysts.

In Chicago, a ―heat list‖ supposedly identifies the citizens most likely to be involved in a

shooting. In Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, and a number of other cities, private company Pred
Pol is supposedly helping police to identify where property crimes and robberies might occur. As

those cities‘ predictive programs have gotten more and more attention, police chiefs have done
their best to get in on the action.

More police departments are trying to predict crime through computer analysis of data, part of the
growing trend of using algorithms to analyze human behavior. Advocates say this approach

focuses on those most likely to commit crimes, allowing for better relationships between police
and residents. But critics say the computer models perpetuate racial profiling and infringe on civil
liberties with little accountability, especially when the forecasting models are built by companies

that keep their methods secret.

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