Predictive Policing Using AI Tested by Bay Area Cops

Government Technology: Even the head of a Santa Cruz tech company that sells software to Bay Area police departments admits that using an algorithm to tell cops where and when to patrol raises a host of complicated issues.

With the promise of trying to predict crime before it happens, police departments across the United States are experimenting with artificial intelligence programs like the one from PredPol in Santa Cruz. It’s an evolution of the “hot-spot” crime maps police have been using for decades to guide their patrolling — with 21st-century twists that opponents say can reinforce bias and make people less safe.

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