Abolition for the People

The Shiny, High-Tech Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Far from loosening incarceration’s grip, modern tools like predictive policing and tracking apps have instead deepened the carceral state’s influence over everyday life

This article is part of Abolition for the People, a series brought to you by a partnership between Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL, a Medium publication for and about the lives of Black and Brown men. The series, which comprises 30 essays and conversations over four weeks, points to the crucial conclusion that policing and prisons are not solutions for the issues and people the state deems social problems — and calls for a future that puts justice and the needs of the community first.

From everyday apps to complex algorithms, technology has the potential to hide, speed, and deepen discrimination, all while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to overtly racist practices of a previous era. Predictive policing programs, criminal risk assessment tools, and electronic ankle monitors are a few of the tools that perpetuate the injustices of the U.S. criminal legal system, or what I call the New Jim Code. The good news is that with the rise of the New Jim Code, many individuals and…