Actuarial Justice

Actuarial Justice refers to a system of criminal justice that emphasizes risk assessment and statistical analysis to predict and manage crime. Rather than focusing on individual responsibility or rehabilitation, actuarial justice uses data-driven tools to categorize offenders based on the likelihood of future criminal behavior. This approach is prevalent in policies such as predictive policing, parole decisions, and sentencing guidelines. Sociologists critique actuarial justice for prioritizing efficiency over fairness, potentially reinforcing systemic biases and neglecting broader social factors influencing crime. By examining actuarial justice, sociologists explore its impact on concepts of accountability, justice, and inequality within contemporary legal systems.