"Like
any field, the science of criminal investigation is changing because of
technology. One area that has grown dramatically is predictive
policing. Ten years ago, UCLA Anthropology Professor Jeff Brantingham
teamed up with a number of mathematicians to study and crunch
crime-related data. For six of those years they worked with the LAPD which now uses predictive policing in 19 of its 21 divisions.
Predicting
crime is the focus of the FOX TV show Minority Report. The series is
the stuff of science fiction. It was also a pretty popular Tom Cruise
movie once. But, in some ways, predictive policing has become science
fact. At
Newton Division, LAPD Captain Jorge Rodriguez says, “We're taking the
information out there and leveraging it to predict and get in front of
crimes. To try to stop them from happening." Both Rodriguez and
Brantingham believe that predictive policing is a valuable tool and, as
the professor puts it, “I think you have one trend in the future of
policing” and that’s “to deliver ever more data faster in ever-more
combinations."......... It doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, more officers are placed in the hotbox areas and the bad guys are scared off. But,
this is very much a work in progress. And, to Brantingham, yesterday's
crimes are not necessarily a guide to where tomorrow's might be. And,
it’s not clear if crunching numbers can ever lead to who actually
commits crimes. The question hanging over all of this is the same
one in Minority Report, the ethical question of arresting someone before
a crime has even been committed."
http://www.foxla.com/virtual/news/local-news/46625629-story