Crime Predicting Software Being Used by Police

No, this isn’t Minority Report made real, but it is close. New “predictive policing” software from developers such as PredPol helps police to determine when, where, and what kind of crime might happen. Using information from previous crimes in the area, the software calculates the chance of a crime happening. Use of these styles of software can theoretically help police forces to know where to have increased patrols.

As reported by Forbes, there are already signs that the software is working in cities such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz according to early reports. showing lower crime rates compared to conventional methods. Despite this early success, more extensive studies are needed to know for sure that the software is the cause, or is just coincidence. One possible downside brought to light is that these styles of software could lead to dependencies on quantified results rather than human judgement, which could hinder rookies from gaining a good “feel” for the job. Only time will tell whether the software is effective and wisely used.

Source: Engadget