SOC-521: Big Data & Criminal Justice

The growing use of data-centric technologies is transforming criminal justice in the United States.  These technologies affect the scale and nature of collected data, enable the detection of discriminatory patterns of policing and influence bail recommendations for pretrial detainees and management of prison populations.  Modern computational and statistical methods offer the promise of increased efficiency, equity, and transparency, but their use raises complex legal, social, and ethical questions.  In this course, we will discuss the application of techniques from machine learning and statistics to a variety of criminal justice issues, analyze recent court decisions, and examine the relationships among law, public policy, and data.  Special attention is paid to the rules of evidence as they apply to electronic or digital evidence, the role of expert witnesses, and the laws and regulations governing electronic surveillance.