Predictive policing and social control in the NYPD

Abstract

This research project is of Sociology of Violence. It aims to identify intermediate mechanisms between predictive policing and racial inequality reproduction. The research question is: how data-based technologies influence, in racial states, racial inequalities reproduction in policing practices? As for a theoretical objective, it is sought to deepen and operationalize the concept of institutional racism in public safety, as police are known for historically controlling Black communities. For empirical purposes, we highlight the analysis of predictive policing, considering how important it presents itself within the institutional framework, how its operationalization takes place, as well as it interacts, directly and indirectly, to the race category. In order to understand the enactment of such technologies, it is particularly important to observe their context and the practices that surround it. That shall be accomplished through the collection and analysis of qualitative material, be it from direct observation or semi-structured interviews, as well as document analysis from official sources. Our privileged case study will be the New York Police Department, well-known for relying on multiple data-based systems and for experimenting with predictive analytics in police practices (such as the CompStat, and the Domain Awareness System). (AU)