What ethical challenges arise with predictive policing and algorithmic bias?

• A. Predictive policing relies on random data to avoid bias.
• B. Transparency and safeguards are unnecessary for algorithmic bias.
• C. Biased data can lead to biased outcomes, violating privacy and legitimacy; requires transparency, audits, safeguards.
• D. Algorithmic bias is a myth in modern policing.

Answer: (C)

Predictive policing relies on data and models, so if the historical data reflect over-policing or discrimination, the algorithm learns those patterns and makes biased predictions. That can lead to unfair targeting, privacy intrusions, and a legitimacy problem for policing because communities feel they’re being watched or punished for factors beyond their control. To handle this ethically, we need transparency about how the model works, regular audits to detect biases, and safeguards like oversight, data cleaning, fairness checks, and limits on how predictions are used. The other options miss the point: random data would undermine usefulness and doesn’t fix fairness, transparency and safeguards are essential rather than unnecessary, and the idea that algorithmic bias is a myth ignores real evidence of biased outcomes.