Paper ID: 2401.06162

A debiasing technique for place-based algorithmic patrol management

Alexander Einarsson, Simen Oestmo, Lester Wollman, Duncan Purves, Ryan Jenkins

In recent years, there has been a revolution in data-driven policing. With that has come scrutiny on how bias in historical data affects algorithmic decision making. In this exploratory work, we introduce a debiasing technique for place-based algorithmic patrol management systems. We show that the technique efficiently eliminates racially biased features while retaining high accuracy in the models. Finally, we provide a lengthy list of potential future research in the realm of fairness and data-driven policing which this work uncovered.

Submitted: Dec 22, 2023