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Big Data policing in Denmark: The case of Pol-Intel

Sat, October 9, 5:00 to 6:30pm EDT (5:00 to 6:30pm EDT), 4S 2021 Virtual, 22

Abstract

Pol-Intel is a big data analysis policing software, developed by the American company Palantir, and used by the Danish National Police, for the purpose of “compiling, visualizing and analyzing data” and performing “operational and strategic analyses based on data from multiple data sources”. Advertised simultaneously and in a somewhat contradictory manner, as a “super-weapon”, as well as “simply an interface”, Pol-Intel was conceived as part of the Danish Police’s response to the 2015 Copenhagen shootings, following the international trend of the shift towards Intelligence Led Policing.

This paper will present and discuss the initial findings of a research project that examines the use of Pol-Intel by the Danish Police, and the ways in which it has impacted police work in the Danish context. As Covid related restrictions have been an obstacle for the initial plan of conducting non-participant observation of the software at play, the paper will be based on a series of online interviews with Police officers and executives. The empirical focus of the paper will be on the effect of the visualizations that the software produces, their impact on Police investigations and allocation of resources, as well as issues of data privacy and user accountability.

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