Police tests prediction software against break-ins – tagesschau.de

Date: 21/04/2015 20:37 clock

In the movie “Minority Report” a special unit of crime predicts and prevents this way. Of these, the German police is far away, but she is now testing software that predicts the risk of burglary.

A computer screen in a police station on a map: Suddenly an address is lit red. Here is soon broken, so goes the next patrol alerted with screeching tires to prevent a crime.

Crime forecast on computer

“You can not the whole thing with the movie ‘Minority Report’ confused ‘, screwed Steve Feldman of the police union in Berlin expectations down a bit. In the meantime 13 year old movie with Tom Cruise clairvoyant predicted serious crimes, which were then still prevented by a special unit in advance. In contrast, applies to the prediction software to the police, which is currently already tested only in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia: “It is simply impossible, one hundred per cent predict a crime, but here it really is all about probabilities.”

But what just called? The crimes forecast with computer programs, in English “Predictive Policing”, is actually a completely logical step policing, says Rainer Wendt, Chief of the German Police Union. He describes how the software is fed, specifically the German program “Precops”: “As part of the ‘Predictive policing’ we take the police case files and digitize the so-called Perseveranzerwartung the offender This is the winning spirit of the offender, in once or twice. a specific residential area is slightly caved in, got away quickly and made many gains have, “said Wendt. The walk then to the third or fourth time there and it was the principle of “Precops”

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All Power to the algorithms

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Sounds harmless. Yet concerns the “Predictive Policing” or police prediction software to resolute critics, such as Halina Wawzyniak, parliamentary representative of the Left “. Of course, no one wants the police or typed on a typewriter and operated a rotary phone” On the other hand, warns the politician, one must have in principle to be skeptical when all the power I give algorithms as she says.

It could be that the software simulates a false picture of the security ago and perhaps the temptation is there to save the expensive software live police continue to thin strips, because one knows where it is dangerous and where not. And what is your privacy policy if for most accurate predictions as much information needs to be linked? But above all: Are thieves or general criminal does not even capable of learning and would simply resort to unpredictable areas

enlighten Higher chances dips

The police union Wendt knows these reservations, yet he believes in the “Predictive Policing” and hopes that from the Testphaste soon as possible investigators everyday life: “This brings us – as we policeman say – ‘before the situation’ and then increases the probability of detection. The next goal should definitely be that the burglars must think, fifty-fifty, I can get out of here. Now he has a much better rate. “

The chance namely, that a burglary is actually clarified at present only. 1: 5