Some of you might have noticed that it's about 95% accurate. So is it better to let ten innocent men go free than one innocent man get punished?
Premise: At a dazzlingly anticipated press conference, @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Rosen opened a timestamped envelope to reveal that experimental computer program V.A.L.I.S had correctly predicted the criminal behaviour of nineteen of the twenty ringleaders in last Thursday's post-@@ANIMAL@@ball riot. Using metadata gathered from citizens' social media activity, spending habits and permanent school records, the new VI seems to be able to predict criminal behaviour with startling accuracy.
Validity: Some degree of authoritarianism/law and order spending. Must have teh interwebs. Must have some degree of scientific advancement.
[option]"Just think, @@LEADER@@," enthuses brand spokesperson Rachel Rosen with a slightly unsettling smile. "This is just a trial run with what limited data we could pull on those living in the area. Imagine what we could accomplish with access to the more... sensitive information the government holds? Think of the lives that would be saved if we could predict, to within a reasonable margin of error, criminal acts before they occur?"
[effect] criminals are often distinguished through their suspicious lack of online presence
[option]"This is bloody ridiculous!" exclaims veteran cop @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, a mere twenty four hours from @@HIS@@ retirement. "Police work is about knocking on doors, putting boot leather to the streets and pulling over wronguns. There's more to fighting crime than stopping criminals you know, it's about making people feel safe knowing that there's a copper on the corner should the worse happen. Put more officers on the beat and cut out this high tech nonsense if you want to see results."
[effect] god knows on this one. Brain gone sleepy bye.
[option]"No, you've both got it wrong!" shouts criminologist and amateur botanist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "If we want to cut down on crime, we need to tackle the causes of crime. We can use this software, sure, but we should be using it to pinpoint high-crime areas, undertaking major urban redevelopment and promoting outreach programs to at-risk youth!"
[effect] bulldozers and construction crews have replaced police cars in high-crime areas
[option]"This is going to be something of a hard sell over here, granted" notes your Minister for Trade, slyly pocketing your office supplies. "Mind you, there's plenty of nations out there, take Blackacre for instance, that'd love to get their hands on this kind of tech. They're always wanting to keep closer tabs on political dissidents and someone's going to make a few @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@ out of it. It might as well be us, right?"
[effect]