BSC Working Papers serve as a platform for disseminating the preliminary research findings and initial ideas of BSC researchers. These working papers are unfinished drafts that have not yet been fully developed to meet the rigorous standards of peer-reviewed journals. By sharing these works at an earlier stage, BSC aims to foster intellectual exchange and potentially identify areas for further research. This series offers a valuable outlet for researchers to explore new concepts, experiment with different approaches, and contribute to ongoing scholarly discourse.
The use of data-driven technologies in law enforcement, commonly referred to as predictive policing, is increasingly shaping the way police forces operate worldwide. Concerns about the digitalisation of law enforcement have been voiced by a variety of different actors. However, this process is heterogeneous and in practice one must contend with different conceptions of predictive policing. This is reflected in the varieties of critique, which focus on different aspects of predictive policing and the various risks associated with it. This paper summarises the work initiated as part of the project CUPP to understand the genealogy of such criticisms and critiques. Based on a cursory examination of widely cited literature, several tentative renderings and criticisms of predictive policing are identified. Thus, the answer to the question in the title of this paper is that there are many problems with predictive policing, much like there are many different ways of imagining it. This is likely shaped by a multitude of contextual factors, including the disciplinary affiliation of the person articulating the criticism.
Read the full Working Paper here: BSC_WP_012025_Problem_with_predictive_policing