{"id":7121,"date":"2019-02-05T00:03:56","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/crime-prediction-software-adopted-by-14-uk-police-forces\/"},"modified":"2019-02-05T00:03:56","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:03:56","slug":"crime-prediction-software-adopted-by-14-uk-police-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/crime-prediction-software-adopted-by-14-uk-police-forces\/","title":{"rendered":"Crime prediction software ‘adopted by 14 UK police forces’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Liberty is concerned the software’s predictions are based on biased data
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At least 14 UK police forces have made use of crime-prediction software or plan to do so, according to Liberty.<\/p>\n

The human rights group said<\/a> it had sent a total of 90 Freedom of Information requests out last year to discover which forces used the technology.<\/p>\n

It believes the programs involved can lead to biased policing strategies that unfairly focus on ethnic minorities and lower-income communities.<\/p>\n

And it said there had been a “severe lack of transparency” about the matter.<\/p>\n

Defenders of the technology say it can provide new insights into gun and knife crime, sex trafficking and other potentially life-threatening offences at a time when police budgets are under pressure.<\/p>\n

One of the named forces – Avon and Somerset Police – said it had invited members of the press in to see the Qlik system it used in action, to raise public awareness.<\/p>\n

“We make every effort to prevent bias in data models,” said a spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

“For this reason the data… does not include ethnicity, gender, address location or demographics.”<\/p>\n

But Liberty said the technologies lacked proper oversight, and moreover there was no clear evidence that they had led to safer communities.<\/p>\n

“These opaque computer programs use algorithms to analyse hordes of biased police data, identifying patterns and embedding an approach to policing which relies on discriminatory profiling,” its report said.<\/p>\n

“[They] entrench pre-existing inequalities while being disguised as cost-effective innovations.”<\/p>\n

Predictive software<\/h2>\n

Liberty’s report focuses on two types of software, which are sometimes used side-by-side.<\/p>\n

The first is “predictive mapping”, in which crime “hotspots” are mapped out, leading to more patrols in the area.<\/p>\n

The second is called “individual risk assessment”, which attempts to predict how likely an individual is to commit an offence or be a victim of a crime.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
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\n Manchester’s police force was identified as one of those to be using historical data to predict where future crimes might take place
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The report says the following forces had already used one or both types or were planning to do so:<\/p>\n