Police authorities around the country have been experimenting with a multifaceted computer algorithm that can help identify people who are most likely to commit forthcoming crimes, with the primary goal being to prevent that from taking place, the New York Times reported.
The program is being referred to as "predictive policing," where it merges conventional policing such as paying close attention to areas where crimes are likely to happen as well as keeping an eye on current parolees. It also makes use of other data like friendships, activity on social media and drug use.
The program was introduced in Kansas City in June to a group of men, mostly black, who are on bail at a community auditorium and is now called the Kansas City No Violence Alliance, or KC NoVA.
"We have a moral reason to do a better job at addressing violence in this community. I don't know that this will work, but we need to try," Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, the Telegram reported.
Police officials have also warned those in attendance, parolees and even their associates, that if any one of them commits violent crimes, they will be punished severely, according to the International Business Times.
