” of criminal justice funding, according to the DOJ, is not actively keeping track of whether funds are being used for this purpose.“BJA does not have specific records,” Hyun said, “that confirm the exact number of grantees and subgrantees within the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Formula Program that use predictive policing.”
Despite its nescient practices, at least some JAG funding has been spent in this area. In trying to address the lawmakers’ concerns, BJA managed to identify at least five U.S. cities that have applied grants towards predictive policing programs. Those include Bellingham, Washington; Temple and Ocala, Florida; and Alhambra and Fremont, California. In the case of Temple, Hyun wrote, JAG funding was spent on a predictive program intended to “identify targets for police intervention.
Unlike JAG grants, the second source of funding identified by Hyun—a competitive grant program run by the Bureau of Justice Assistance , known as the Smart Policing Initiative —reportedly holds recipients to a higher level of account. Stipulations on funding are said to include, for instance, checks on whether approved projects actually achieve their intended results.
“It is unfortunate,” Wyden said, “the Justice Department chose not to answer the majority of my questions about federal funding for predictive policing programs.” His inquiry to the DOJ was backed by six Democratic colleagues—Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Alex Padilla of California, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, as well as Representatives. Yvette Clarke of New York and Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas.
Some software are modeled on police departments’ worst behavior. A 2019 study published out of New York University revealed that nine police agencies had fed software data“during periods when the department was found to have engaged in various forms of unlawful and biased police practices.” The same researchers noted that they’d observed “few, if any, efforts by police departments or predictive system vendors to adequately assess, mitigate, or provide assurances.
Imagine that.....
More like “INjustice” Department, amirite.