Annual Review of Criminology - Volume 2, 2019

Predictive analytics in policing is a data-driven approach to (a) characterizing crime patterns across time and space and (b) leveraging this knowledge for the prevention of crime and disorder. This article outlines the current state of the field, providing a review of forecasting tools that have been successfully applied by police to the task of crime prediction. We then discuss options for structured design and evaluation of a predictive policing program so that the benefits of proactive intervention efforts are maximized given fixed resource constraints. We highlight examples of predictive policing programs that have been implemented and evaluated by police agencies in the field. Finally, we discuss ethical issues related to predictive analytics in policing and suggest approaches for minimizing potential harm to vulnerable communities while providing an equitable distribution of the benefits of crime prevention across populations within police jurisdiction.

Since the late 1990s, many countries have been debating what prostitution policies to apply, and, particularly in Europe, several have changed the overall approach to the phenomenon and the people involved. Prostitution is more than ever before firmly placed on policy agendas as a topic related to gender equality and globalization. Furthermore, it is seen in context with issues relating to organized crime, health, and gentrification. In both policy debates and the academic discourse, particular ways of regulating prostitution are treated as models and a central discussion is which model among these works best. In this article, I argue that this search for a best practice of prostitution policy that can be transferred to and work similarly in a new jurisdiction builds on a lack of understanding of the importance of context and implementation. How policies work depends on, among other factors, aims, implementation structures, and characteristics of local prostitution markets. But I present a broad spectrum of research to clarify what should be taken into consideration when assessing policies’ abilities to achieve diverse goals. I argue that a fundamental problem in both prostitution policy debates and scholarship is that the arguments over prostitution policies have become too detached from the many and differing contexts in which these policies operate and I propose a way forward for research.