Predictive Policing - Recommendations paper

Big data is a hot topic in the criminological field. It provides for a lot of posibilities and new approaches are being developed. Predictive policing is such a new big data approach. It goes further then Intelligence Led Policing, which has been on the security agenda since the The Hague Programme. Where Intelligence Led Policing uses data to steer, analyze and act in real-time, predictive policing uses this data and other indicators to calculate the probability of where a crime is most likely going to happen in the future.

Through this paper we will give some insights into the approach of predictive policing by first explaining what it means, then we will have a look at what is happening in the different Member States in relation to predictive policing. And finally we will formulate 12 recommendations for policy makers at the local, national and European level about the approach; how to start with it, what to choose and how it should be promoted. We gathered this information by looking at the literature, by developing a questionnaire which was send to all Member States of the EUCPN and by organizing a meeting with experts where the different recommendations where discussed.