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Crime Prediction Machine Being Used To Stop Shoplifters
from the minority-report? dept
Over in the UK, they've apparently built up a database program that can predict shoplifting patterns to the point that they can warn stores to be on the lookout. They don't really describe how it works, but suggest that it includes the crime patterns of a few thousand shoplifters, and from that, they believe they can predict how future shoplifting sprees will progress.
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Does this worry anyone else?
"The database system ... is based on Microsoft Access."
Nothing says "fit for the enterprise", "robust", and "dependable" like MS Access. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Microsoft per se, but it always surprises me to see people using Access in a multi-user, enterprise environment and it makes me a little nervous to see it used for predictive analysis in conjuction with law enforcement.
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Re: Does this worry anyone else?
As opposed to Oracle, which requires an army of administrators, another army of developers, and crashes all the time anyway?
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Re: Does this worry anyone else?
Your experience with Oracle is obviously different from mine -- which is admittedly limited. But there are a vast number of RDBMS's on the market. My comment was only meant to highlight the fact that I'd be skeptical of a system designed to predict criminal behavior using ANY tools not designed for a large-scale multi-user environment. I'm simply hesitant about the reliability and accuracy of desktop data engine being used for something so critical.
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Re: Does this worry anyone else?
If it comes as a ready-made package that fits on a desktop, and only needs updates in the forms of periodic downloads from the main server, then Access can do the job. A retail store is not going to want an enterprise server with an army of support personnel.
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Re: Does this worry anyone else?
How did we move from law enforcement to retail?
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