Predictive Policing and the Politics of Patterns

Author(s): Mareile Kaufmann, Simon Egbert, Matthias Leese
Journal Title: The British Journal of Criminology
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Place: Oxford

Software packages for predictive analytics, which rely on the identification of patterns that indicate spatial and temporal distributions of crime, have become increasingly implemented in police work across many countries. This article shows that every pattern follows specific narratives of how crimes are committed, where to find crime and where to send police patrols. In other words, patterns formalize different understandings about crime. In doing so, however, they make policing decisions more opaque as the assumptions underlying pattern-recognition are often concealed. Ultimately, this invites a stronger reflection about the political nature of patterns.

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