ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN CRIME PREVENTION: RISKS, PRECAUTIONS AND LEGAL SAFEGUARDS

This article examines the legal, criminological, technological and ethical risks associated with deploying artificial intelligence and digital technologies in crime prevention. Particular attention is paid to poor data quality, algorithmic bias, false predictions, personal data breaches, unjustified risk labelling of individuals and neighbourhoods, and excessive reliance on automated recommendations. Drawing on the legislation of Uzbekistan and comparative international guidance, the study differentiates AI applications by their potential impact on rights and proposes a seven-stage precautionary model covering lawful purpose, data governance, independent validation, human oversight and continuous evaluation. The article argues that the effectiveness of digital crime prevention must be measured not by the scale of automation but by demonstrable preventive outcomes, legality, proportionality, reliability and the protection of fundamental rights. The proposed model is conceptual and requires empirical validation before operational deployment. Keywords: crime prevention, artificial intelligence, digital technologies, precautionary safeguards, algorithmic bias, data quality, human oversight