Minority Report Documentary

1. The documentary film Minority Report (2002) provides insight on the use of predictive policing, which is utilized to prevent the commission of a crime before it occurs. In the film, a pilot program, informally known as “Pre Crime Unit,” was implemented in the District of Columbia in Washington with the objective of preventing future crimes through preemptively arresting individuals who have been identified as future criminals. This objective was achieved by the use of the three precogs, which are individuals that have been “genetically mutated and have the ability to predict future (Neubauer & Fradella, 2014).” These individuals were placed in a pool filled with a substance identified as the photon milk, which helps the precogs to vividly

view the future and project the images on a display screen the laboratory to help the police officers preemptively arrest individuals. Typically, the precogs identify those that will commit murder in the future with an approximate time that it will occur. These individuals will identify the location and “try” to arrest the individual before it occurs.

In my opinion, the use of preemptive arrests can be viewed as a proactive style of policing that has given police officers the discretionary power to arrest individuals that are about to commit a crime. As we all know, a lawful arrest must be accompanied by the established of probable cause as required by the Fourth Amendment. An example, a police officer is patrolling 1st Street at night and he observes an individual at a residence standing outside with plastic gloves on, a crowbar in his hand, and a black bag. The officer automatically assumes the individual is about to commit burglary. Therefore, the officer stops at the residence to question the suspect and search to validate an arrest. In my opinion, this case is an example of preemptive arrest. In this case, probable cause was established because there was enough factual evidence to prove that the suspect was about to commit a burglary. The suspect did not live at the residence and he had items that are related to burglaries, such as plastic gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints behind and crowbar to break and enter in the residence. Secondly, this case is preemptive in nature because the individual had not physically entered into the residence. This individual can be arrested and charged with attempted burglary. Therefore, I strongly believe that preemptive arrests with the establishment of probable cause can be beneficial in preventing crimes from occurring.

The actions of the officers displayed in the film does not depict the modern day practices of predictive or preemptive style of policing.

As previously stated, in the film precogs were used to predict the commission of future crimes. For example, John Anderton, the chief of the Pre-Crime Unit, was identified as the killer of Leo Crow. Leo Crow was alleged to be responsible for his son Sean’s death, but he stated that he was not. Anderton made the decision not to kill him because he knew fate of his future and he could change it. Therefore, he attempted to arrest him, but Crow pulled the trigger killing himself because his family was supposed to get something out of the deal. This is when realize that he Anderton had been set up. This does not change my perception about the use of precogs. It raises awareness that mistakes can occur. In the real word, fabricated precogs that can display consistent, reliable visions on display screens to assist officers in preemptively arresting individuals does not exist. However, we do have individuals that are professional crime analysts that complies statics, which is a reliable source that can be used to help officers arrest individuals. The factors of past crimes, such as the location, time, and nature of the crime, can be utilized in establishing predictive police strategies. This data can help determine what area police officers should patrol to deter future crimes, such as community policing or hot spot

policing.