Police in several major urban areas — most notably the Los Angeles Police Department — are turning to crime prediction software to aid in targeting rising crime rates. Based on algorithms used to predict earthquake aftershocks, these “predictive policing” programs forecast the highest risk times and places for crimes to occur.
In this week’s legal-affairs podcast Lawyer2Lawyer, we hear how this technology works and discuss the implications for civil liberties and criminal profiling. Helping us do that are two guests:
- Dr. Jeff Brantingham, co-founder of PredPol, one of the leading predictive policing companies.
- Professor Andrew G. Ferguson from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, who has written several articles about the constitutional and criminal-law implications of this technology.
Listen to the show or download the MP3 from the Legal Talk Network or from the iTunes store.