Re:Predictive Policing Software Is Pretty Terrible at Predic...
by heavyset_go on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @07:30PM
(#37758970)
That's the point. Cops are only going invest in systems that confirm their biases and allow them to target the people they "know" are "the problem".
If cops, for whatever reason, have a history of targeting a particular neighborhood, arresting people that fit a certain profile, etc, and suddenly their new computer system tells them to focus on other areas or demographics, then that system is broken to them. They "know" where the crime is, and if they listen to the system that tells them otherwise, criminals will get away and/or they won't be able to make easy arrests they want to make.
Law enforcement is also incentivized to buy systems that they can point to and scapegoat if they do something wrong. "I'm just doing what the computer told me to do and machines can't be biased" is a good enough justification to a lot of people, including the justice system.
If cops, for whatever reason, have a history of targeting a particular neighborhood, arresting people that fit a certain profile, etc, and suddenly their new computer system tells them to focus on other areas or demographics, then that system is broken to them. They "know" where the crime is, and if they listen to the system that tells them otherwise, criminals will get away and/or they won't be able to make easy arrests they want to make.
Law enforcement is also incentivized to buy systems that they can point to and scapegoat if they do something wrong. "I'm just doing what the computer told me to do and machines can't be biased" is a good enough justification to a lot of people, including the justice system.