Crime prevention
Even the creator of ‘broken windows’ policing thought it could lead to racial problems
George Kelling was one of the two men who developed “broken windows” policing, which minority communities say unfairly targets them. But Kelling says the theory is misunderstood and even easily misapplied in potentially racist ways, even as it may have helped drive down crime rates nationwide.
New Report Shows Ohio Police Secretly Use Facial Recognition Technology
This summer, former National Security Agency (N.S.A.) contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations that the American government is intercepting and collecting correspondence and phone records, reviving a national debate over security and privacy. The debate has also surfaced on the state level, as local law enforcement agencies have started to implement facial recognition technology that could transform […]
Predicting Crime Through Data
Throughout history, America’s law and order branches have profiled citizens, both unofficially and under the auspices of policies like “stop and frisk.” Most of this profiling has been based on race, gender and neighborhood. But what if those identifying factors were combined with other information, like how many tattoos we have, and bits and pieces […]
How New York’s ‘Stop and Frisk’ Compares to Britain’s ‘Stop and Search’
Mayor Bloomberg warns that his city could return to the bad old days of high crime without ‘stop and frisk.’ It’s the controversial policing tactic that a federal judge struck down on Monday. We discuss how a similar police tactic is doing in Britain.
Snowden’s disclosure prompts global debate over privacy versus national security
The debate over government surveillance versus individual privacy isn’t confined to the United States. The revelations from Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency leak have prompted investigations and allegations the world over.
Mass. community puts Afghan-style counter-insurgency tactics to use against gangs
Springfield, Mass., had a problem with gangs. Has. A Harvard professor and former soldier in Afghanistan has taken some of the tactics developed to fight the insurgency in Afghanistan and applied them to dealing with Springfield’s gangs.