DATA SCIENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE - How Do They Matter?

Posted by Ash Steinfeld on July 11th, 2022

DATA SCIENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE - How Do They Matter?

Why does Data Matter in Criminal Justice?

The first piece of information required to get outcomes is data. They support company strategies and decision-making. While solid evidence is provided by reliable data, the opposite outcome is also conceivable. Data more clearly identifies the root causes of issues. They demonstrate what is going on in various systems and divisions. We may assess the effectiveness of solutions by saving data, and as a result, we are able to recognize when long-term solution changes are necessary. Data improves productivity. Defects are resolved more quickly if data collection is used well and analysis is carried out efficiently.

As in many other sectors, "the application of data science has become common in the field of criminal justice." This is a result of jurisdictions placing more emphasis on data analysis. In fact, the Data-Driven Justice Initiative, an ambitious U.S. Department of Justice program aiming to improve data use in many criminal justice sectors, had 120 jurisdictions representing more than 91 million people as of 2016.

More comfortable with uncovering the correlation between criminal behaviors. 

1. Crime Prevention: Enforcement agencies will find every significant and nuanced

association between illegal behaviors if crime data, including the unemployment rate, state crime rates, incidents of malicious mischief, etc., is communicated. Enforcement agencies will utilize the data to forecast when and where specific types of crime are likely to occur when these data points are recorded and geotagged. Such information analytics have been built pretty successfully in real-world usage. For instance, during a trial program in

Manchester, New Hampshire, local police used preventative measures that led to

a 12 percent drop in robberies, a 21 percent drop in burglaries, and a 32 percent drop in thefts from motor vehicles.

2. Criminal Identification: Enforcement agencies from all over the state will enter data from crime sites into databases to look for connections between crimes, thanks to information analytics. This will make enforcing laws easier, create profiles of certain perpetrators, and create shorter suspect lists.

3. Risk Assessment: Former New Jersey attorney general Anne Milgram discussed the creation of a data-driven approach for determining whether or not a condemned criminal will likely or unlikely pose a threat to public safety if released from custody or placed on probation in a 2013 TED Talk. To improve public safety, this approach will make it easier for judges and parole boards to develop risk evaluations that is more accurate.

4. Improving Community Relations A great instrument for improving ties with the community is national crime information. The general public has a right to know how well the police area unit secures and defends the neighborhood. Public trust in law enforcement will rise due to sharing crime figures with the public, which will also foster effective working relationships.

5. Initiative Assessment: A law enforcement effort area unit is developed in order to curb criminal activity. Crime statistics are crucial in determining whether or not these programs are working and whether or not local changes are needed. The data will demonstrate whether crime increases or decreases in the targeted areas.

6.  Predictive Policing: Criminal justice experts frequently use crime statistics as a tool to forecast the increased likelihood of crime. Enforcement action can then be taken to stop the expected crimes from happening. 

How Does Data Science Help Law Enforcement?

Law enforcement is "the activity of making certain that the laws of an area are obeyed" as a dictionary meaning. It "describes the agencies and employees responsible for

enforcing laws, maintaining public order, and managing public safety. When trying to prevent and solve crimes before the widespread use of digital tools, information was gathered from various public institutions by hand or by manually mapping the locations of frequent crime scenes. Today,this is possible thanks to smart machines with artificial intelligence (AI) at their core. These AI-supported technologies include, for instance, crime mapping software, GPS, and national databases that compile data from various sources, including social media channels, internet browser search histories, body cameras, and facial recognition algorithms. 

Even now, it is quite challenging to make reliable predictions about the evolution of

criminality. However, analytical techniques and methodologies produce incredibly fruitful outcomes. 

1.  Environmental analysis: "Environmental analysis involves a systematic study to forecast the flow of events that may occur within the desired forecast horizon in an acceptable manner and events that result in a change in the relevant environment." [xx] The mentioned occurs in social behavior, international events, economic situations, demographic investments, and so forth.

2. Delphi Technique: A component of environmental analysis is this method. It is a method of reconciliation that carefully compiles the opinions of various specialists. Problems are handled by specialists with different viewpoints and no prior interaction thanks to this technique.

3. Scenario Building: The creation of scenarios involves making up likely-to-occur situations. They evaluate scenarios in light of potential outcomes. These analyses are primarily qualitative and not mathematical.

Interested in learning more about how data science is used in various industries? 

Do check out the data science course in Mumbai offered by Learnbay. Excel at the in-demand data science skills and become a  data science practitioner in top companies.