Automated Racism

Amnesty International UK's new report Automated Racism exposes how almost three-quarters of UK police forces are using technology to try to “predict crime” - with little regard for our human rights. They call it "predictive policing".

This technology used by police decides that our neighbours are suspects, purely based on:

• the colour of their skin
• where they live 
• their socio-economic background.

This is racial profiling. It’s automated racism. But we can stop it.

The map will give you information on whether your local police force uses "crime predicting" technology, and if so, which one.

The map will also include stop and search rates and demographics in your area, as well as how the stop and search rate compares to other police forces.

Thousands signed our petition calling on the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, Diana Johnson MP, to prohibit automated and ‘predictive’ policing systems in England and Wales.

“Crime prediction” is when police use automated technologies for policing. It can also be called “predictive policing”.

In our report Automated Racism - How police data and algorithms code discrimination into policing, we exposed how police are using two types of “crime prediction” systems:

• Individual-based, where the police use technology to predict whether a person may commit a particular crime
• Geographical, where police use tools to create “crime hotspot” maps. 

Policing in the UK is already biased against minoritised communities, with many forces accepting they’re institutionally racist. 

So when they add data-driven technology, we get automated discrimination.

The use of this technology violates many rights and its use is in breach of the UK’s national and international human rights obligations, including:

• Right not to be discriminated against
  • The use of these systems by police results in, directly and indirectly, racial profiling, and the disproportionate targeting of Black and racialised people and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
• Right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence
  • It targets people and groups before they have actually offended, which risks infringing on the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.
• Right to privacy
  • This is indiscriminate mass surveillance. Mass surveillance can never be proportionate interference with the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of association and of peaceful assembly.
• Freedom of association
  • People who live and reside in areas targeted by predictive policing will seek to avoid those areas as a result, leading to a chilling effect.