AI will help police predict spikes in terror and hate crime
The police will set up a new “hate lab” that will utilise AI to help predict spikes in hate crime on the streets following Brexit.
The facility will look across social media websites to monitor the “ebb and flow of racial tension” in the country, as the government expects hate crime to increase upon the UK leaving the European Union in March.
The lab, costing around £1m, will allow police forces to spot trends on Facebook and Twitter that will act as “warning signals”, so possible outbreaks of hate crimes in cities can be pre-empted.
“Brexit has drawn sharp divisions in society, and in 2019, Britain is likely to be in its most severe crisis in peacetime, and there is concern that events will motivate more hate crime,” said principle investigator Professor Matthew Williams.
“Our research and technology will help organisations to quickly recognise warning signals in real-time so they can take necessary action to support victims.”
The monitoring unit, that will be based in Manchester, will be led by researchers from Cardiff University, who have been developing the AI.
The researchers noticed that following the 2016 EU referendum vote, and following the 2017 terror attacks, surges in online hate speech coincided with significant increases in hate crimes offline.
The researchers will look at the content of social media posts and key words in online activity, breaking it down to sections such as “anti-Polish”, Islamophobic and antisemitic hatred.
If they spot any spikes in online “racial tension”, they will inform local police forces in the area of that high activity.
The lab is also working in partnership with all four police forces in Wales, Greater Manchester Police and the Welsh Government to develop the AI before it is used next year.
Experts believe the terror attacks between March and June last year were the main contributor to the 17 per cent increase in hate crime in 2017/18.
In total, 94,098 incidents were recorded by the police, the highest number since records began. Authorities are preparing for a further increase as the UK’s departure from the EU gets closer.
