Alaska Requires DNA Be Collected From People Arrested for Violent Crimes. Many Police Have Ignored That.
By failing to collect DNA samples when they arrest people as the law requires, Alaskan law enforcement left the state’s DNA database with crucial gaps, allowing at least one serial rapist to go undetected.
How Police Can Better Navigate Cultural Differences
COMMENTARY | Tactical communications training can enhance safety and increase officer efficiency as local governments face shrinking budgets and calls to change how police operate.
New York Lawmakers Demand NYPD Halt Undercover Sex Trade Stings
A dozen city and state officials also called for the disbandment of vice, the primary division that polices the sex trade; some want investigations into misconduct allegations against the unit, including withholding of evidence.
In One State, a Racial Equity Task Force Suggests 100 Ways to Change the Criminal Justice System
North Carolina’s task force released a sweeping report calling for changes in policing and the courts.
Instead of Defunding Police, Minneapolis Cuts $8 Million from Department Budget
After the police killing of George Floyd, a majority of the city council vowed to dismantle the police department. They took a much more modest step this week.
2020 Sees Largest Year-Over-Year Rise in Murder on Record
Preliminary data from this year shows that homicide rates are up in most major cities. The pandemic and social unrest are both possible factors in the rise.
States Join Pilot to Investigate Cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
Federal, state, and tribal agencies will create guidelines for investigations into missing persons and murder cases where Native American or Alaska Native people are involved.
Federal Intervention in Police Departments to Return Under Biden
The Biden administration will reinvigorate “pattern and practice” investigations into police departments and correctional facilities, while also looking to more aggressively examine prosecutors.
New York City Tests Replacing Police with EMTs for 911 Calls about Mental Health Crises
The city saw a wave of protests this summer calling for major changes in how the police operate. Now it’s the latest city to embrace the use of medical and mental health professionals for certain 911 calls.
Looking to Replace Police with Crisis Response Teams? Consider These Lessons Learned from the Military.
COMMENTARY | Many cities are exploring how to cut police funding and replace some law enforcement officers with teams of social workers and other specialists. The shortcomings of teams of social scientists deployed by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan can provide some valuable insights into the kind of mistakes to avoid.
Can Better Data Fix America’s Policing Crisis?
COMMENTARY | As society debates law enforcement reform, far better data is necessary to provide a road map for needed changes.
Breonna Taylor Killing Spurs Action Against No-Knock Warrants
More than a dozen local jurisdictions have changed their policies.
Seattle, Portland, and New York Sue Trump Administration Over Labeling as ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’
The cities said that labeling them “anarchist jurisdictions”—and threatening to withhold federal money— was an “arbitrary and capricious” decision that has no merit and violates the Constitution.
In One State, a Battle Over Publicly Naming Disciplined Police Officers
A state appeals court in New Jersey ruled that the attorney general does have the power to compel police departments to disclose the names of police officers who have been disciplined for misconduct.
Bill in New York City Aims to Stop Police From Collecting Minors’ DNA
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Fauci suggests Americans should skip traditional Thanksgiving gatherings … Voter-approved initiative on car fees struck down by Washington Supreme Court … A third Republican governor won’t endorse Trump in election.
Coalition of Prosecutors and Attorneys General Say They Won’t Enforce Laws Criminalizing Abortion if Roe v. Wade is Overturned
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Boston finalizes police reforms … San Diego purchases hotels to house homeless people … NYC Mayor asks ICE agents to stop falsely identifying themselves as members of the NYPD.
Emboldened Far-Right Groups Challenge Cities, States
Armed vigilantes have shown up at protests, sometimes with the tacit support of police.
Why We Need to Pay Attention to Police Officers’ Mental Health
COMMENTARY | A new study found that as police are under more scrutiny than ever, their mental health struggles remain profound.
Covid Curbs Community Policing at a Time of Diminishing Trust
The coronavirus has emerged as the nation’s deadliest police killer.
Tennessee Using Federal Coronavirus Funds for Police Training
The state will spend $300,000 of its federal funding to assist local police agencies in training new recruits.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Help us tailor content specifically for you: