Tools used in the criminal justice system predict the risk of crime – but the scores are based on factors completely out of our control.
Your money, postcode, friends and family can make all the difference to how the criminal system treats you.
A predictive algorithm is a set of rules for computers to follow, based on patterns in data. Lots has been written about how algorithms discriminate against us, from biased search engines to health databases. Imagine that we develop an algorithm – “CrimeBuster” – to help police patrol crime “hot spots”. We use data that links crime to areas populated by lower income families. Since we cannot measure “crime” directly, we instead look at rates of arrest.
The American COMPAS system captures parental divorce and childhood abuse. The Opioid Risk Tool asks whether the patient’s family has a history of substance abuse, and whether the patient has a history of “preadolescent sexual abuse”.
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