A new report from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab offers a survey of “algorithmic policing” in Canada, and warns that these surveillance and investigative tools have outstripped the country’s legal oversight mechanisms. “Undoubtedly, algorithmic policing technologies are here,” said Kate Robertson, a research fellow at Citizen Lab and defence lawyer who co-authored the report. The researchers at Citizen Lab decided to survey the extent of algorithmic policing in Canada after noting the widespread use of such tools in other jurisdictions, particularly the U.S. and U.K., Robertson said. The Citizen Lab authors, however, note that despite the VPD’s efforts to mitigate algorithmic discrimination, some forms of bias may remain. The Citizen Lab survey found that Calgary police have a software licence with Palantir, which makes predictive policing tools, but that the force currently uses it to integrate internal data silos, and not for its algorithmic policing capabilities.

Source: thestar September 01, 2020 10:01 UTC