Minority Report Crime Prediction Becoming Dangerously Real

The result, called a Snapshot Phenotype Report, was a 3D rendering that combined genetic attributes found in the crime scene DNA with artistic enhancements based on witness descriptions. Much like the PreCogs in Minority Report, the machine came up with the face of the supposed perpetrator, depicting a male with fair skin, brown eyes and hair, no freckles, and bushy eyebrows. The department took the controversial step of publishing the predicted face in an attempt to gather tips from the public.

However, a recent revelation from hacked police records shows that in 2020, an East Bay detective sought to go even further. In a request for analytical support, the detective asked to run the DNA-generated rendering through facial recognition technology, marking the first known instance of a police department attempting such a procedure.