SpotCrime Weekly Reads: facial recognition, gun violence, data boosts trust in public safety

Questioning the ethics behind facial recognition software, addressing gun violence, data boosts trust in public safety, dangers of constantly monitored society, spike in sextortion scams, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

Fewer calls has local law enforcement focused on community policing (SkyHiNews)

Pandemic-era policing: Fewer crimes, but signs of rising stress (Public Source)

Smart Policing for Safer Cities: A Data-Driven Approach (TowardDataScience.com)

Q&A: Cameras, Police, the Dangers of a Constantly Monitored Society (Berkeley.edu)

Indianapolis Police Officer Shoots Man in Livestreamed Killing. Here's What to Know (Time)

New State Data Show 97 Percent Drop in Backlogged Rape Kits (BCTV.org)

San Francisco police chief bans 'thin blue line' face masks (ABC News)

CRIME RATE

Link found between early post office locations and modern crime rates (Phys.org)

Gun Violence Reduction Programs Struggle With Long-Term Success (IdeaStream) see also: U.S. still has a gun violence problem despite coronavirus lockdowns (Axios) and also: In many cities, gun violence is dealing a double blow to black communities already ravaged by the pandemic. Community outreach workers are struggling to keep up. (The Trace)

Arizona sees spike in 'sextortion' email scams (Arizona Daily Star)

Uptick in Murders and Burglaries Driving Crime in NYC During COVID-19 Pandemic: NYPD (NBC New York)

CRIM-TECH

Researchers said their 'unbiased' facial recognition could identify potential future criminals — then deleted the announcement after backlash (BusinessInsider) see also: Biometric software that allegedly predicts criminals based on their face sparks industry controversy (BiometricUpdate) and also: Anaheim police to use facial recognition software to help identify suspects (Orange County Register) and finally: Clearview AI to stop selling controversial facial recognition app to private companies (The Verge)

Statisticians win $20 million to address shoddy forensic science methods (ScienceMag)

Police make arrest in 1999 killing using DNA, genealogy site (San Francisco Chronicle)

Challenges faced by Digital Forensics (LegalDesire.com)

Opinion: What we don’t know can hurt us. Why Dallas needs to get better crime analysis (Dallas News)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

Data, Analytics Can Boost Trust in Public Safety (Contributed) (GovTech)

Today’s cities are built on bricks and cement. The cities of tomorrow are built on data. (The Times of India)

PRISON REFORM

Will COVID-19 Help Flatten Numbers Behind Bars? (TheCrimeReport.org)

DOJ: U.S. Imprisonment Rate Lowest Since 1996 (LA Daily Post)

Police, jails change the way they operate in coronavirus outbreak (Greenville Journal)

DUMB CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK

Man Arrested Trying To Quarantine On Private Disney Island (CBS Miami)

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