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Predictive Policing
Luis D. Colon
Strayer University

Predictive Policing seems to be an alternative to many agencies unable to access the necessary resources needed to fight crimes. Wal-Mart and Amazon have taken advantage of the benefits of focusing on what will happen next rather than the events in the past. I call it “focused planning”. After reading how many companies have expressed concerns of the high crime activity in their zones it is no surprise that predictive policing is such a big thing. In a recent episode of “Snapped” a crime televised program via Oxygen; police officers were able to stop a murder thanks to predictive policing. The area of the crime had been identified as an area of high crime activity. While police were patrolling the area, a 911 call was placed reporting a case of domestic violence. It took the police 2 minutes to get there. Because of their prompt response, the victim was exposed to minimal wounds and the fiancé was arrested immediately. Having a system that focuses on trends while being updated constantly allows the police to patrol areas in a more effective matter. This means that for high incident areas the percentage of crimes have dropped considerably. The whole idea is based on data related to patterns and criminal behaviors. Humans are predictable and like many would say “creatures of habit”. It does not take long to figure patterns and reasons behind some of the most common behaviors. Many entities have looked at patterns in crimes and learned that a certain season or events impact the rate in crimes. This could not be possible by law enforcement patrolling streets. There is just not enough manpower available. In previous years, patrols would be driving around conducting rounds to ensure different areas were clear of crime activity. This proved to be

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