In a US first, California city set to ban predictive policing

A file photo of a dashboard for the New York Police Department’s ‘Domain Awareness System’ (DAS) in New York on May 29, 2013. PredPol Inc – short for predictive policing – relies on an algorithm to analyse police records and identify crime-ridden areas to determine when and where officers patrol, which critics say reinforces racist patterns of policing. — Reuters

NEW YORK: As pressure mounts to address policy brutality and racism, California’s Santa Cruz is poised to become the first US city to ban predictive policing – despite headquartering the firm that pioneered the technology.

Used by police forces across the United States for almost a decade, PredPol Inc – short for predictive policing – relies on an algorithm to analyse police records and identify crime-ridden areas to determine when and where officers patrol.