While policing has improved with technology, there is an increase in the concerns that new technologies may exacerbate policing inequity. Though inequities arising from specific technologies have been examined, an explanation that can be applied across all technologies, including those that may be deployed in the future, is lacking.
There is an immediate need to evaluate how a particular technology may aggravate existing inequities, and lawmakers and police must sit together to define the problem and arrive at a solution. This will help analyze new or upcoming technologies through an equity lens and develop policies for responding appropriately.
Therefore, a taxonomy that can help diagnose and parse how police technology aggravates inequity has been proposed. The intent is to frame the challenges as five specific problems: 1. replicate inequity in policing, 2. Cover or disguise inequity in policing, 3. shift inequity from somewhere else to policing, (4) worsen inequitable policing harms, 5. compromise oversight of inequity in policing.
Furthermore, building a taxonomy ensures that police technologies comply with ordinances as several cities across the country are passing Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinances.
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