In a high-tech command center in downtown Los Angeles a digital map lights up with 911 calls television monitors track breaking news stories surveillance cameras sweep the streets and rows of networked computers link analysts and police officers to a wealth of law enforcement intelligence.

This is just a glimpse into a future where software predicts future crimes algorithms generate virtual most-wanted lists and databanks collect personal and biometric information. The Rise of Big Data Policing introduces the cutting-edge technology that is changing how the police do their jobs and shows why it is more important than ever that citizens understand the far-reaching consequences of big data surveillance as a law enforcement tool.

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson reveals how these new technologies viewed as race-neutral and objectivehave been eagerly adopted by police departments hoping to distance themselves from claims of racial bias and unconstitutional practices. After a series of high-profile police shootings and federal investigations into systemic police misconduct?? and in an era of law enforcement budget cutbacks?? data-driven policing has been billed as a way to ??turn the page?? on racial bias.

But behind the d