British law enforcement agencies are developing a database to prevent violent crimes, local media reported. With her help, they will search for “potential” victims and murderers. The system will contain information about suicide attempts, acts of domestic violence and, in general, about the inclinations of different people, including those who have not committed a serious offense. Human rights activists claim to have created a base similar in essence to a “blood-curdling dystopia.” And the Ministry of Justice prefers not to disclose the details of the project, although they do not deny its development.
Representatives of the British organization Statewatch, which investigates violations of freedom of speech and human rights, informed the press that the project is actively developing.
According to her information, the police were provided with data on hundreds of thousands of Britons. As early as 2023, a database was ready, where, based on a person’s criminal history, an approximate probability was indicated that he would commit a violent crime. According to human rights activists, the authors of the database were not politically correct. For example, it followed that black Britons were 4.7 times more likely to be subjected to violent crime, and they were 8 times more likely to be suspected than the white population.
Since then, the system has been constantly being improved, and people who generally had no problems with the law get into it. It records both criminal and administrative offenses. It was used during the premiere of Rishi Sunaka – at the very beginning of 2023.
Interestingly, even more detailed information can be collected about potential victims of crime. The database contains cases of self-harm, information about mental illness, disability, and anthropometric data.
It is unlikely that the same information is being collected about potential criminals. It is noteworthy that the system was originally called the “Homicide Prediction Project.” The name was then changed to a more neutral one, “Data exchange to improve risk assessment.” Perhaps artificial intelligence is connected to the information analysis.
Officials do not deny that the project really exists, but they assure that only those who have had at least one court sentence to any punishment get into the database. In the near future, officials promised to publish a report on the work done. But, of course, he won’t remove all the questions.
Human rights defenders are concerned that the activities of law enforcement officers may be discriminatory. In fact, representatives of one nationality or another, as well as the poor, will initially fall under suspicion, which will only reinforce existing stereotypes. Statewatch even called the developing system “racist.”
However, so far, the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been more concerned with protecting racial and national minorities from white radicals. In 2024, the head of the cabinet reacted as harshly as possible to the unrest following the terrorist attack in Southport. At that time, the government was criticized by the right-wing both in the country and abroad. Billionaire Elon Musk was a particularly active critic of the prime minister.
The authorities claim that the database will allow for a better analysis of the situation, but it is unclear what preventive measures this analysis will lead to.
Meanwhile, it’s worth thinking about. After all, it is obvious that with the advent of the database, the number of people who want to contact the police is decreasing. As you know, in the modern world, information about a person is becoming increasingly important and can also be used against him.
