Pros And Cons Of Predictive Policing

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Predictive policing is using computer models, supported by prior crime and environmental data, to anticipate risks of crime. The software uses profiling to identify potential criminals, which then allows police enforcement to strategize how to interfere with the potential criminal. Can police automatically assume that these potential criminals, identified through the predictive policing software, are guilty? This paper will discuss that if all data points to a person about to commit a crime they are still not found guilty until said crime has been committed. A person cannot be found guilty for a crime they did not commit. Predictive policing is a valuable tool for law enforcement but cannot determine if someone is definitively guilty because …show more content…

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a prediction is a statement about what might happen in the future. A person cannot be found guilty based off a prediction, no matter how accurate it is because it is still a guess. No matter how accurate it is it can never be one hundred percent true. Finding someone guilty based off of prediction is unethical because they should not be prosecuted if there is a chance they may not be a criminal. There is still a chance, regardless how small, that the potential criminal will not commit the crime they are predicted to …show more content…

Whether it is through the heat list or crime hotspots, predictive policing has in fact been effective in identifying potential criminals. Although this statement is true, it is also true that predictive policing has been inaccurate in identifying potential criminals. As predictive policing is being used today, as a substantial police enforcement tool, it is a reasonable way to use the software. The predictive policing software is not ready to be used to conclude individuals as guilty before the crime they are predicted to commit is

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