What noun can be used for persons who are likely to commit a crime? The scenario is that the person might have never committed a crime in their life but if you analyze the current state of things in their life, you’d conclude that they are most probably going to commit a crime in the foreseeable future.
Usage:
Just like sci-fi movies, based on predictive modeling and data analysis, we can identify _______. (word for those who are likely to commit a crime)
Words considered but that don’t fit:
suspect – A person thought to be guilty of a crime or offense
perpetrator – A person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.
[ODO]
I guess both words signify that the crime has already occurred. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Answer
How about precriminal?
The OP’s example:
Just like sci-fi movies, based on predictive modeling and data
analysis, we can identify precriminals (word for those who are
likely to commit a crime).
Precriminal is a natural extension of precrime, which Dictionary.com defines as follows:
precrime: of or relating to law-enforcement efforts and strategies to deter crime by predicting when and where criminal activity will
occur.
So precriminal pertains to law-enforcement efforts and strategies to deter crime by predicting who is likely to engage in criminal activity for the first time, i.e., who is “primed” to commit criminal offenses.
Postscript: For interesting background reading on precrime, google precrime.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : BiscuitBoy , Answer Author : Richard Kayser
