The New York Police Department has developed a new pattern detection computer software to help catch criminals.
The New York Police Department has been using a new internally developed software that recognizes certain behavior patterns and compares them to a database of thousands of reported thefts, thefts, and robberies. The software, better known as "Patterizr", is a set of learning algorithms, taken from 10 years of police data, to scan criminal information. Patternizr takes information from crimes such as time, method of entry, and type of force used, and tries to discover certain patterns that can be used to help identify suspects.
Determining crime patterns is an important part of police investigations. The traditional method of identifying patterns involves a lot of work and manpower, which consumes valuable time for analysts and detectives. Thanks to computer algorithms, Patternizr provided detectives with a list of potential suspects in a short period of time. This greatly saves detectives' time, which allows them to make better use of their time to catch criminals. GPS jammer.
With the help of Patternizr, NYPD was able to catch a thief trying to rob a syringe at Home Depot. The algorithm managed to obtain data that showed it was snatched by a man brandishing a syringe several weeks before a different Home Depot. Then, officials were able to put these two cases together. "Because Patternizr obtained these key details in the algorithm, it brought back complaints from other areas that I would not know about," said Rebecca Shutt, a Bronx crime analyst in charge of the Home Depot case.
Although Patternizr seems to be a good tool for finding criminals, people are worried about potential AI bias, and people are worried that machines are not enough to catch the right people. In the best case, due to AI bias, an innocent person may feel inconvenienced by asking questions, and in the worst case, an innocent person may get into trouble because of what he or she did not do, so the software cannot capture Race, gender, or specific location of the crime. The New York Police Department claimed that they shared public concerns about possible prejudice, but they have recorded that they have conducted multiple fairness tests and found no signs that Patternizr showed any racial prejudice.
Traditional pattern discovery methods are still used for more serious crimes, such as rape and homicide.
Patternizr has been used by NYPD since 2016, but its use has not been decrypted until recently.