About a month into my IDEA Grant Research Project (the first of my two human-rights-centered summer experiences), I feel accomplished and excited for all that is to come! My qualitative research project investigates intelligence-led and predictive policing practices to determine the potential human and civil rights implications of these technologies used for law enforcement purposes.
I am incredibly grateful for all the insight I have gained on this issue through my work so far, which has mainly consisted of reading a large chunk of the academic literature regarding these law enforcement technologies, alongside news stories and investigations. This research has allowed me to gain a very in-depth understanding of what these technologies look like worldwide, alongside the perspectives of different affected parties and stakeholders (some of which include firsthand accounts from people targeted by predictive policing programs). Evaluating predictive policing through a multidisciplinary, human rights-centered lens allows this ever-growing practice of implementing predictive technologies in law enforcement to be interrogated in novel ways.
Adjusting to days full of research at my computer has gone smoothly, as I have transitioned from focusing on my schoolwork to my research project. Weekly meetings with my wonderful research mentor, Dr. Mariano, also help to keep me motivated to do my due diligence on this subject and the people affected by these technologies. Additionally, working in my hometown of Pasco County, where the police department’s intelligence-led policing program led to great community and institutional outcry due to it allegedly (investigations are still pending) violating the 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendment rights of those targeted by the program, has been motivating because I am doing research for the benefit of the community I grew up in.
I have just another month to concentrate on my research project before I embark on my journey to Prague, Czech Republic to study global human rights issues and mitigation strategies, which I am incredibly excited about. When I return from Prague, I hope to have an even more enhanced perspective on how to best approach protecting human rights everywhere. I will then use the remaining weeks of my summer in August to finish my research project and prepare everything for presentation at the President’s Showcase in the fall.
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