Recently, the Los Angeles Police Department announced it would stop using algorithmic-based programs to identify who’s most likely to commit violent crimes, according to The Los Angeles Times. An audit of the program by the department’s inspector general found, among other things, that the police department used inconsistent criteria to label people “chronic offenders.”
The LAPD is one of many U.S. police departments and courts leveraging artificial intelligence-backed software to assist in policing, bail and sentencing decisions. While such tools are grabbing headlines for disproportionately targeting blacks and Latinos, observers say the root of these tools’ problems is biased data.
