Predictive Policing? Major (Welcome) Development: The Bradenton Times (Reporter Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) reports that the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has admitted in a settlement agreement made public on Wednesday that its policy of keeping a list of people considered likely to commit future crimes and sending deputies to their homes violated the U.S. Constitution - noting that as part of the settlement, the office will pay $105,000 to four Pasco County residents who were targeted by the law enforcement agency and is barred from implementing any similar program in the future…"The program, dubbed “Intelligent Led Policing” by the Sheriff’s Office and “predictive policing” by its critics, first came to light in a series of reports by the Tampa Bay Times in 2020. The paper reported that after Sheriff Chris Nocco took office in 2011, he created a “cutting-edge intelligence program” designed to stop crime before it happened, which led to the harassment of children and their families. The Times found that Pasco County residents who got caught in the agency’s sights were placed on a list as potential criminals and subjected to harassment, often having deputies show up at odd hours. More than 12,500 times, the reporters found, deputies checked on the people identified by a departmental algorithm as targets. Those targeted were cited for violations such as missing mailbox numbers or overgrown grass. The paper reported that one of the goals of the program was to encourage those who made it onto the agency’s list to move away."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: " For years, the Pasco Sheriff ran an unconstitutional program, harassing kids and their parents because a glorified ...