The New York Times had an interesting pair of articles yesterday about the use of data mining and its effect on criminal justice. The first one described the expansion of business intelligence software beyond its initial role in the retail world. Business intelligence software examines patterns in large amounts of data. For example, this allows Wal-Mart to optimize inventory in each store by taking into account local variations in taste.
In 2005, the police chief in Richmond, Virginia decided to try similar software to predict criminal activity. They analyzed 911 calls, arrests, and other data points. They found that crime increased in Hispanic neighborhoods on payday. The reason? Many residents do not use banking services, making the extra cash a tempting target for thieves. Using analyses like this, the police were able to better deploy their forces in advance of problems, and crime fell 20%.
The second story, entitled “Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist”, showed a darker side. Data mining has found a lucrative home in consumer marketing, allowing advertisers to target their pitches to the people most likely to buy. InfoUSA is an example of a list broker, a company that sells names of people that fit categories such as new moms, motorcycle owners, and so on. They also had some more questionable lists:
InfoUSA advertised lists of “Elderly Opportunity Seekers,” 3.3 million older people “looking for ways to make money,” and “Suffering Seniors,” 4.7 million people with cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. “Oldies but Goodies” contained 500,000 gamblers over 55 years old, for 8.5 cents apiece. One list said: “These people are gullible. They want to believe that their luck can change.”
These lists proved golden for thieves who would call these lonely or gullible people and talk them out of sensitive bank information. In certain cases they completely drained the victim’s account. Some state prosecutors feel that InfoUSA knew or should have known, and the investigation is likely to get additional fuel from this front-page story.
There is a lot of paranoia regarding opening up public records to the public itself. Some privacy advocates would prefer that they only be made available to corporations for approved purposes. So it is worth noting that the most damaging data breaches, such as the InfoUSA scheme described above or the 2005 incident at ChoicePoint, have involved shady businesses or thieves posing as businesses. Sophisticated criminals will always adapt. Those who do not, and keep trying to rob people on payday, will hopefully have a harder time.