How Do ‘Technical’ Design-Choices Made When Building Algorithmic Decision-Making Tools for Criminal Justice Authorities Create Constitutional Dangers? (Part II)

Public Law, Forthcoming

17 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2023

See all articles by Karen Yeung

Karen Yeung

The University of Birmingham

Adam Harkens

University of Strathclyde, School of Law

Date Written: December 7, 2022

Abstract

This two-part paper argues that seemingly ‘technical’ choices made by developers of machine-learning based algorithmic tools used to inform decisions by criminal justice authorities can create serious constitutional dangers, enhancing the likelihood of abuse of decision-making power and the scope and magnitude of injustice. Drawing on three algorithmic tools in use, or recently used, to assess the ‘risk’ posed by individuals to inform how they should be treated by criminal justice authorities, we integrate insights from data science and public law scholarship to show how public law principles and more specific legal duties that are rooted in these principles, are routinely overlooked in algorithmic tool-building and implementation. We argue that technical developers must collaborate closely with public law experts to ensure that if algorithmic decision-support tools are to inform criminal justice decisions, those tools are configured and implemented in a manner that is demonstrably compliant with public law principles and doctrine, including respect for human rights, throughout the tool-building process.

Keywords: algorithms, risk assessment, constitutional principles, administrative law, human rights

Suggested Citation

Yeung, Karen and Harkens, Adam, How Do ‘Technical’ Design-Choices Made When Building Algorithmic Decision-Making Tools for Criminal Justice Authorities Create Constitutional Dangers? (Part II) (December 7, 2022). Public Law, Forthcoming , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4319319

Karen Yeung (Contact Author)

The University of Birmingham ( email )

Law School and School of Computer Science
Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT
United Kingdom

Adam Harkens

University of Strathclyde, School of Law ( email )

Lord Hope Building
141 St James Rd
Glasgow, Scotland G4 0LT
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
147
Abstract Views
542
Rank
358,856
PlumX Metrics