Pc Precisely Predicts Felony
The Yonkers, N.Y., Police Department used a personal computer to accurately predict the time and place of a robbery through use of crime analysis software.
The computer said a robbery would take place between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. on July 27 on South Broadway, based on crime statistics. Accordingly, patrol officers were on hand when a young woman was robbed. Two armed suspects were apprehended within minutes of being flagged down by the victim.
Such technology is not rare among law enforcement, but experts say that it is more helpful for resource management than crime prevention purposes, since officers must still rely on victims to tip them off to crimes.
The technology would be more useful in crime prevention if the public were notified of predictions, which police are reluctant to do.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Wired (08/05); Cohn, David .
