Submission + - Minority Report coming your way
boombaard writes: "Police target dangerous suspects before they can offend"
As far as odd stories about new developments in law enforcement (in the UK) go, this seems to be the strangest by far..
"Details of the database emerged after Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said that Britain had "sleepwalked" into a surveillance society."
The article itself also mentions how this might seem to resemble the movie Minority Report, but doesn't bother to ask anyone from the interviewed department how the development might possibly have a slightly disconcerting feel to it, and if they feel it would be justified if so.
The team is concentrating on reducing the risk of those with a history of domestic violence turning into murderers. About a quarter of murders are related to domestic violence. "There are some pretty dangerous people out there, so you need these risk models to wheedle them out, separate the wheat from the chaff," she said. "If you add up all the information, it tells us which people are risky." Ms Richards said that once an individual had been identified, police would decide whether to make moves towards an arrest, or to alert the relevant social services who could steer those targeted into "management programmes."
Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, said yesterday: "It is quite right that the police should keep intelligence on suspected criminals, but it is obscene to suggest there should be a 'crime idol' list of those who might commit an offence. The police are systematically moving the boundaries as to where they can exercise their powers. The Minority Report syndrome is pushing the boundary of criminal intervention further into the general community."
As far as odd stories about new developments in law enforcement (in the UK) go, this seems to be the strangest by far..
"Details of the database emerged after Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said that Britain had "sleepwalked" into a surveillance society."
The article itself also mentions how this might seem to resemble the movie Minority Report, but doesn't bother to ask anyone from the interviewed department how the development might possibly have a slightly disconcerting feel to it, and if they feel it would be justified if so.
The team is concentrating on reducing the risk of those with a history of domestic violence turning into murderers. About a quarter of murders are related to domestic violence. "There are some pretty dangerous people out there, so you need these risk models to wheedle them out, separate the wheat from the chaff," she said. "If you add up all the information, it tells us which people are risky." Ms Richards said that once an individual had been identified, police would decide whether to make moves towards an arrest, or to alert the relevant social services who could steer those targeted into "management programmes."
Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, said yesterday: "It is quite right that the police should keep intelligence on suspected criminals, but it is obscene to suggest there should be a 'crime idol' list of those who might commit an offence. The police are systematically moving the boundaries as to where they can exercise their powers. The Minority Report syndrome is pushing the boundary of criminal intervention further into the general community."
