Technology series ( Part 1): Technology gone wild? Use of algorithm in burglary investigations: U.K. Daily Mail (reporter Martin Beckford) reports that reports Norfolk Police are leaving it to a computor to decide if it's worthwhile investigating burglary cases (despite a spike in crime) - and some members of the community they serve are displeased. (The Mail calls it "The great burglary cop-out.")

STORY: "The great burglary cop-out: Norfolk Police leave it to a COMPUTER to decide if it's worthwhile investigating house break-ins despite spike in crime," by reporter Martin Beckford, published by The Mail on September 1, 2018.

SUBHEADINGS:   Police told to close burglary cases if a computer calculates poor odds of success; Hundreds of investigations have been quietly closed by Norfolk Constabulary;     The Norfolk force has seen a ten per cent rise in burglaries in the year to March;     Home Office figures show of 99 recent break-ins 5 led to suspects being charged.

GIST: "Police won’t investigate burglaries if a computer tells them not to bother trying to catch the culprit – in a move that has been slammed as a shocking insult to victims. Before doing any detailed detective work, officers are simply closing cases after the machine calculates the chances of making an arrest and recovering treasured stolen goods. Hundreds of burglary investigations have been quietly closed by Norfolk Constabulary this year using the controversial technique, without victims ever being told. Before doing any detailed detective work, officers are simply closing cases after the machine calculates the chances of making an arrest and recovering treasured stolen goods Last night, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Ed Davey said: ‘Technology can be great for catching criminals but this project is about selecting which criminals not to catch.’ And a spokesman for Ukip said: ‘The fact that a police force would even consider this approach to investigating serious crimes such as burglary is a gross insult to the victims. The duty of the police is to serve and protect people and property.’ The Norfolk force has seen a ten per cent rise in burglaries in the year to March, yet Home Office figures show that of 99 recent break-ins, only five led to suspects being charged. Another ten were resolved by cautions, five by ‘community resolution’ – such as the burglar saying sorry – and another five by a fine. Norfolk’s experiment comes as victims nationwide are now increasingly encouraged to report crimes online after hundreds of front counters were shut down, while call waiting times have soared on the 101 non-emergency number. Police chiefs also want witnesses to write their own statements and supply evidence of car crashes or street crimes from ‘dashcams’ and home CCTV systems. In another unusual experiment involving burglary cases, Leicestershire Police carried out a three-month project in which scenes of crime teams only visited attempted break-ins at houses with even numbers. Those with odd numbers did not have forensic searches, to see if the difference affected investigations or victim satisfaction. In the secret Norfolk experiment uncovered by The Mail on Sunday, officers now type in basic facts from the crime scene, such as if fingerprints were found or if the suspect was caught on CCTV. And they will close the case if the computer programme decides there is little chance of it being solved. The controversial move comes as burglary rates soar and clear-up rates plummet nationwide, while police forces are short of thousands of detectives. Crime by numbers;  The budget for Norfolk Constabulary has been slashed by 31 per cent since 2010. It has to save a further £4.5 million by 2022, resulting in 150 Police Community Support Officers and seven front counters being axed.

• 1,516 Norfolk police officers as of March 2018
• 128 fall in their officer numbers since 2010
• 12% rise in overall recorded count crime in year to March 2018
• 4,012 burglaries in the Norfolk area during past 12 months 

The unprecedented plan to let computers decide the fate of burglary cases instead of detectives has been used by police in Norfolk since January this year but has never before been made public. Academics from the University of Cambridge designed the new programme to assess the quality of evidence in each case, following an initial visit to the crime scene by officers. The ‘solvability algorithm’ looks at 29 different factors, comparing the new incident against thousands of previous crimes in the county, before making a judgment as to whether it is likely to lead to arrests. If the computer decides there are no leads then the case will be closed, although the force insists a staff member reviews each one. Last night, Harry Fletcher, of the Victims’ Rights Campaign, said: ‘It’s far better that an individual makes these decisions than a computer, because they can take into account the impact on victims. ‘If the victim is elderly or vulnerable the effect of a burglary will be immense. A failure to consider this will risk further losing public confidence.’ A spokesman for the force told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We’ve liaised with academics from the University of Cambridge in relation to the development of an algorithm, which is currently being tested alongside our normal working practices. ‘In all cases of house burglary an officer will attend the scene and carry out an initial investigation. An assessment will then be made as to whether further inquiries are required and it is at this stage that we test the use of the algorithm. The results of this will be evaluated in the near future.’ The force explained that the algorithm – the rules that the computer uses to make a calculation – is based on the analysis of thousands of burglary cases in Norfolk. It looks at 29 different factors that affect whether a case can be solved or not, and in each crime assesses whether they are present or absent. ‘This generates a recommendation on whether the case should be allocated for further investigation,’ a spokesman said. The controversial move comes as burglary rates soar and clear-up rates plummet nationwide, while police forces are short of thousands of detective. These factors are thought to include availability and quality of CCTV footage, forensic clues such as fingerprints, footwear marks or blood left at the crime scene, and similarity of the offence to others committed by known criminals. The Norfolk spokesman added: ‘Cases are overseen by members of the Norfolk Investigation Management Unit. The decisions made by the algorithm can be overridden at any time. The algorithm alone does not make the decision, as each case is reviewed by a staff member.’

Despite the force’s insistence that all burglary victims receive an initial visit from police, The Mail on Sunday spoke to a community gardening charity that had tools worth about £800 stolen – but complained they saw no one. The Sustainable Living Initiative group, which runs two communal allotment areas, was given a crime number after reporting the break-in last April. After an exchange of emails, an officer declared there were no ‘investigative opportunities’ such as forensic evidence, witnesses or suspects to follow up. The lack of a police visit to search for evidence surprised charity founder Mahesh Pant. He said: ‘We have had problems in the past and the police have come round to do forensics and take photographs. But this time we did not see anyone. Maybe they did not have the resources to follow it up. ‘We expect security in this country and we rely on the police to protect us. Why do nothing at all? We don’t have any faith in the system now.’ The burglars stole a lawnmower, two strimmers and a heavy hammer after breaking a padlock to get into a shipping container used for storage at the charity’s site in Marlpit, Norwich. PS They'll still turn up for a good photo op! Norfolk police do still turn out sometimes. This PC in pink boa and rainbow motifs smiled for a snap, right, at a Norwich Pride march. And officers took part in a Cha Cha slide dance routine at a music event in the village of Rackheath Mr Pant said the neighbourhood used to have a Police Community Support Officer who visited and investigated previous crimes such as poly-tunnels used to grow vegetables being slashed by vandals. He said: ‘Acts of low-level vandalism would be reported and the PCSO would visit. Sometimes they took photographs and arranged for fingerprinting. ‘A long time ago, I told the PCSO that we had heard some children were responsible for vandalism. It turned out he knew of the family. He said he would have a word with them and the problems stopped . ‘He also came to see us last October after we had eight heavy rolls of fencing stolen while we were in the process of having new outer fencing put up. ‘He even had a key to our gate so he could let himself in, but just before the burglary he came back to return the key and said there would be no more PCSOs.’ A Norfolk Constabulary spokesman said of the allotment incident: ‘There were no apparent forensic opportunities, however a local officer did speak with the victim via telephone and followed this up with an email.’ Other forces have tried to employ computer algorithms to prevent crime, but Norfolk’s experiment is thought to be the first time the technology has been used in detecting burglaries. A system known as predictive policing makes predictions on where officers should patrol, based on historical offence data, and has been used in Kent since 2012. In Durham, algorithms are used to decide if a suspect should be kept in custody or not. It is the latest in a series of moves by police forces that critics say have made them more remote from the public they serve. Labour’s Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh said: ‘Burglary is one of the most invasive crimes you can fall victim to and technology should not be stopping vulnerable victims receiving a police response. ‘It’s an inescapable fact that the vast majority of crime is now not being investigated or prosecuted thanks to eight brutal years of cuts to the police and the criminal justice system.’"

The entire story can be read at: 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6122341/Norfolk-Police-leave-computer-decide-worthwhile-investigating-burglary-cases.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.