RSSOT:
Why Hundreds of Mathematicians Are Boycotting Predictive Policing
Some academics are calling the controversial practice a “scientific veneer for racism.”• Mathematicians at universities across the country are halting collaborations with police departments across the U.S.
• A June 15 letter was sent to the trade journal Notices of the American Mathematical Society, announcing the boycott.
• Typically, mathematicians work with police departments to build algorithms, conduct modeling work, and analyze data.
Several prominent academic mathematicians want to sever ties with police departments across the U.S., according to a letter submitted to Notices of the American Mathematical Society on June 15. The letter arrived weeks after widespread protests against police brutality, and has inspired over 1,500 other researchers to join the boycott.
These mathematicians are urging fellow researchers to stop all work related to predictive policing software, which broadly includes any data analytics tools that use historical data to help forecast future crime, potential offenders, and victims. The technology is supposed to use probability to help police departments tailor their neighborhood coverage so it puts officers in the right place at the right time.