COMPAS scored Black defendants as falsely high-risk nearly twice as often

Evidence

A 2016 report by ProPublica alleging that an algorithm used in Florida—called the COMPAS system—was biased against Black defendants received nationwide attention (Angwin et al., 2016). ProPublica analyzed 10,000 cases in one Florida county and found that Blacks (compared with Whites) were almost twice as likely to be scored as high-risk to reoffend but then not reoffend. Whites seemed to get off easy. They were more likely than Blacks to be labeled lowrisk but then reoffend. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1164

Categorization

• XREF: The false-positive asymmetry finding is the canonical empirical anchor for algorithmic-bias debates in criminal justice.
• SHARE: Worth sending to anyone studying algorithmic fairness or working in criminal-justice reform.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1164