Australian police use a secret algorithm and blacklist to target children suspected of future offending

Predictive policing may be the future of law enforcement (thanks, Minority Report), but one implementation in Australia is causing plenty of concern.

A new report by the Youth Justice Coalition examined the use of New South Wales Police's Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP), which is being used to mark people as young as 11.

The STMP is a risk-assessment tool and a policing program used to prevent future crimes by focusing on repeat offenders, or those suspected to potentially commit one. 

For a person to be entered into the STMP, they need to be nominated by police. A "targeting team" assesses the nomination, based on intelligence around suspected or historical criminal activity, or other information. Read more...