Predicting crimes before they occur: not so sci-fi anymore

Info Matters

Christopher Parsons is a Senior Technology and Policy Advisor at the IPC. Prior to joining the IPC in early 2023, he was a Senior Research Associate at the Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

• Choosing to focus on research related to privacy, national security, and public policy [2:38]
• The modernization of policing through technology [4:57]
• Defining the term predictive policing [7:19]
• Bail assessments as an example of predictive policing [8:33]
• Potentially problematic aspects of predictive technologies [9:34]
• Findings of the Citizen Lab’s Surveil and Predict report [11:11]
• Privacy and predictive policing [12:20]
• Human rights issues associated with predictive policing [14:18]
• Key recommendations of the Citizen Lab’s Surveil and Predict report [18:07]
• The need for openness and accountability when it comes to the use of predictive policing tools [21:09]
• Future issues on the horizon related to law enforcement practices and privacy in Ontario [26:26]

Resources:

• To Surveil and Predict: A Human Rights Analysis of Algorithmic Policing in Canada (Citizen Lab, September 1, 2020)
• ‘Algorithmic policing’ in Canada needs more legal safeguards, Citizen Lab report says (Toronto Star)
• Law Enforcement and Security Agency Surveillance in Canada: The Growth of Digitally-Enabled Surveillance and Atrophy of Accountability (Citizen Lab, February 26, 2018)
• Law Enforcement and Surveillance Technologies (IPC Privacy Day webcast)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Next-Generation Law-Enforcement (IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them.

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The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.