Crime & Safety

Speak Out: Is Crime-Prediction Tool Bad for Bad Guys, or Plain Ol' Creepy?

Earlier this month, Norcross Police began using PredPol to predict crime in the city.

Joy L. Woodson, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

Norcross Police is hoping to be exceedingly effective with a new crime deterrent tool aimed at predicting the habits of bad guys.

On Aug. 8, the department became the first in Georgia to launch the new computer program created by PredPol, which is short for "predictive policing," according to the Atlanta Magazine.

The software employs the same concepts retailers uses to chart consumer behavior, the magazine reported.

According to the PredPol website, existing crime data is used to:

  1. Assign probabilities of future crime events to regions of space and time
  2. Present estimated crime risk in a useable framework to law enforcement decision makers
  3. Lead to more efficient and more accurate resource deployment by local law enforcement agencies
Think this is a good tool for Norcross, or bit too much for crime fighting?

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