This edited text draws together the insights of numerous worldwide
eminent academics to evaluate the condition of predictive policing and
artificial intelligence (AI) as interlocked policy areas. Predictive and
AI technologies are growing in prominence and at an unprecedented rate.
Powerful digital crime mapping tools are being used to identify crime
hotspots in real-time, as pattern-matching and search algorithms are
sorting through huge police databases populated by growing volumes of
data in an eff ort to identify people liable to experience (or commit)
crime, places likely to host it, and variables associated with its
solvability. Facial and vehicle recognition cameras are locating
criminals as they move, while police services develop strategies
informed by machine learning and other kinds of predictive analytics.
Many of these innovations are features of modern policing in the UK, the
US and Australia, among other jurisdictions.
AI promises to reduce unnecessary labour, speed up various forms of
police work, encourage police forces to more efficiently apportion their
resources, and enable police officers to prevent crime and protect
people from a variety of future harms. However, the promises of
predictive and AI technologies and innovations do not always match
reality. They often have significant weaknesses, come at a considerable
cost and require challenging trade- off s to be made. Focusing on the
UK, the US and Australia, this book explores themes of choice
architecture, decision- making, human rights, accountability and the
rule of law, as well as future uses of AI and predictive technologies in
various policing contexts. The text contributes to ongoing debates on
the benefits and biases of predictive algorithms, big data sets, machine
learning systems, and broader policing strategies and challenges.
Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students
and scholars of policing, criminology, crime science, sociology,
computer science, cognitive psychology and all those interested in the
emergence of AI as a feature of contemporary policing.
