LAPD to scrap some crime data programs after criticism

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A newspaper reports Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore plans to make changes to a controversial program that uses data to identify people who are most likely to commit violent crimes.

The Los Angeles Times said Friday that the move is a concession to criticism included in an audit and raised by privacy groups.

In a memo to the Police Commission, Moore detailed multiple changes in response to a 52-page audit by Inspector General Mark Smith.

Smith found that inconsistent criteria were used to label people as “chronic offenders.” Smith also couldn’t determine the overall effectiveness of a geographic component that tried to pinpoint the location of some property crimes.

Moore said the department will not use programs that fail to produce results and will strive to “identify new or emerging ideas that hold promise.”

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/