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Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Keywords

algorithmic prediction, predicting crime, prevention of crime, police entrapment

Abstract

As the Commissioners of Police in mid-19th century England illustrate above, the prevention of crime is an inherent function of public policing. To carry out their function of detecting and combating crime, police frequently endeavour to locate and use new tools enabling them to pre-empt criminal activity.2 Many conceptual policing models that drive law enforcement’s focus have been highlighted in scholarly literature: community, problem-oriented, CompStat- driven (short for computer statistics), harm-focused, and order maintenance policing. Developments in modern technology provide additional tools, allowing police forces to delve deeper into suspects’ behaviour and uncover previously unknown patterns of information. Such developments have facilitated paradigmatic shifts in public and private policing practices. As a result, police may be more likely to overstep their legal and constitutional boundaries.

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