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A comment on Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predicting Crimes. Parent comment

Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic... by RcouF1uZ4gsC on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @12:34PM (#37754165)
> pretty much everyone in the metro area under study (SF) used drugs, or at least drug use was equally prevalent in pretty much every geographical area and among all demographics.

A lot of this depends if you are targeting drug users or drug dealers. While I agree that drug users are spread throughout the city, I would be very surprised if drug dealers are spread throughout the city. I would guess that drug dealers are far more clustered than drug users. So while it is useless if you are trying to target drug users, it is probably helpful for targeting drug dealers.

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Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic... by tech_ken on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @12:43PM (#37754277)
Rich people abusing drugs have to get them somewhere, and they're probably not traveling to skid row to get them. I agree that drug dealers and drug users probably have different dynamics, but the reality is that police prosecute both, and in the case of the latter the above described dynamic clearly exists.
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Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic... by seanmcdirmid on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @12:58PM (#37754521)
We had a problem with high school kids buying drugs from homeless encampments near bus stops...which is why we no longer allow homeless encampments near bust stops...because fent kills these kids (which even the most "drugs are harmless" advocate doesn't want happening).
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Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic... by mrguyorama on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @02:06PM (#37755443)
All the kids who bought drugs in my small town bought them from a cop's kid or a teacher.
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Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic... by ChadNauseam on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @04:45PM (#37757307)
Most people don't care at all if someone is injecting fentanyl in the privacy of their own home, but you shouldn't do it right next to an elementary school. Clearly the police will have a priority in which one of these to prosecute.
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