The police will stop using an algorithm to predict who might use violence in the future. There are doubts whether the so-called Violence Risk Assessment Instrument (RTI-G) is useful, and it is not clear whether Dutch officers still used it at all, says a police spokeswoman after reporting by Follow The Money.
The algorithm has been used by the Dutch police since 2014. It looked at a person’s gender, age and criminal record to assess who might become violent. People who came forward were told they were a “security risk subject.” They would be checked more often and were obliged to cooperate. Follow The Money reported earlier this week that ethnic backgrounds also played a role: people with a Moroccan, Antillean or Somali background were seen as a greater risk than others.
The Dutch police say the algorithm was never used alone. “It was a support, in combination with other systems, to see if there is a good chance that someone will use violence. If that is the case, we could use it for a personal approach, for example with mental health care and the municipalities.” It is not clear whether the results of the algorithm are still in people’s files, and whether they are being adjusted.
Previously, the government had to stop using an algorithm to detect welfare fraud. That System Risk Indication (SyRI) is in violation of European rules that protect people’s private lives, the court ruled in 2020.
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