Question

internal emails about a predictive - policing program in chicago show that patrol routes were drawn from a single consultant’s map of “high - risk” blocks, even though no randomized trial had tested the map’s accuracy. the program therefore treats as settled fact what is, at best, a ______ about where future crimes are most likely to occur.
2 mark for review
which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
a guarantee
b supposition
c precedent
d mandate

Explanation:

The context states that the map's accuracy wasn't tested via a randomized trial, so the idea about future crime locations isn't a proven fact. "Supposition" means an assumption or hypothesis, which fits here as the program is treating an untested idea as fact. "Guarantee" implies certainty (contradicts the untested nature), "precedent" refers to a prior example (irrelevant), and "mandate" is an order (doesn't fit the context of a belief about crime locations).

Answer:

B. supposition