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posted by martyb on Tuesday October 18 2016, @12:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the does-not-add-up dept.

The BBC is reporting on the Compas assessment, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions. This tool is used by a number of agencies to assess if someone is likely to commit additional crimes and the resulting score is used in determining bail, sentencing, or determining parole. The article points out that while the questions on the assessment do not include race the resulting score may be correlated with race but this is disputed by the software's creators. The assessment scores someone on a 10 point scale but the algorithm used to determine someone's score is kept secret. Because of this defendants are unable to effectively dispute that the score is incorrect.


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  • (Score: 1) by j-beda on Wednesday October 19 2016, @03:38PM

    by j-beda (6342) on Wednesday October 19 2016, @03:38PM (#416176) Homepage

    "they let the asshole have an x-box"...

    Some societies feel that they want to try to rehabilitate criminals rather than merely punish them.

    Treating the "assholes" with dignity, even if they do not deserve it, is generally thought to further that goal. Pragmatically, if the data shows lower rates or reoffense, it seems foolish to use a more punative approach, even if it might make some feel better to hand out more punishment.

  • (Score: 2) by jmorris on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:26PM

    by jmorris (4844) on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:26PM (#416232)

    I promise the post above is not a sock puppet account! See, they really do believe what I said they believe. Sorry pal, if you think an asshole who mass murdered 77 (mostly children) can be 'rehabilitated' then I propose they relocate the turd into YOUR neighborhood. There is only one rational response to a mass murderer, put his ass down.

    • (Score: 1) by j-beda on Saturday October 29 2016, @12:19PM

      by j-beda (6342) on Saturday October 29 2016, @12:19PM (#420094) Homepage

      While I can understand your position, it is clear that there are societies with significant numbers of members that disagree. Sometimes the minority opinion is a minority opinion for a reason.