Category Archives: Expert Commentary

The homicide clearance rate in Wisconsin is one of the highest in the country, according to a national nonprofit which tracks the data. About 72 percent of homicides committed in Wisconsin over the last decade were “cleared” — usually meaning law enforcement filed charges in the case — according to the Murder Accountability Project. ThatContinue reading “The Badger Project: Homicide clearance rate in Wisconsin ranks near top in nation”

As Lyft driver Cynthia Norman steered a white Chevy through Cleveland’s streets on a cold night in January, the app pinged her to pick up a passenger named “NBA.” She pulled up to the curb in front of a two-story brick apartment complex where two men who looked to be in their 20s were waitingContinue reading “The Markup: Uber And Lyft Drivers Are Being Carjacked at Alarming Rates”

It has been almost a year and a half since Ariane McCree was shot dead by police in a Walmart parking lot, handcuffed and in possession of a gun, but his family still has a host of unanswered questions. McCree, 28, had raced out of the Walmart in Chester, South Carolina, a small town anContinue reading “NBC News: Police Fired 24 shots at a handcuffed man. Why didn’t they turn on their body cameras?”

In Onondaga County, at least 10 of the county’s 15 police departments — including the Syracuse Police Department — use the cameras. But the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the second-largest police force in the county, does not use body cameras and has no plans to add them. Why? It’s not a priority, Sheriff Eugene ConwayContinue reading “Syracuse.com: Sheriff Conway refuses body cameras while more U.S. police forces embrace them”

After much resistance, Suffolk County publicly released its policy on how it uses body cameras. The long-sought policy raises several concerns for civil rights advocates, experts, and lawmakers. The release comes three weeks after police officers were seen on a body camera kicking a handcuffed suspect. The policy allows police officers to view footage beforeContinue reading “WSHU Public Radio: Advocates call Suffolk County’s long hidden body camera policy ‘useless’”

A former suburban cop aims to capitalize on a new Illinois justice reform law that will require every officer in the state to have a body camera by 2025. Ben Laird retired about three years ago as a River Forest police detective. Now, Laird, who has an MBA and a college degree in information services,Continue reading “Chicago Sun Times: Former suburban cop hopes to cash in on new body-camera law in Illinois”

Do large-scale, multimillion-dollar safe city projects stop crime? If not, what is the point in selling the cameras in the first place? Tens of thousands of video surveillance cameras are currently operational in Mexico City and the adjacent State of Mexico. IPVM interviewed industry and local sources and examined official Mexican crime statistics, finding noContinue reading “IPVM Surveillance News source: Mexico City Public Video Surveillance Faces Scrutiny”

Marcus Smith arrived at the Pulaski Orange Line Station on Chicago’s Southwest Side at about noon. It was Thanksgiving Day, 2017, and his mother was waiting for him in a parked car beneath the tracks.As the roar of the departing train echoed off the station’s worn concrete walls, he spotted his mom’s red Honda sedan.Continue reading “CBS News Chicago: Left in the dark: Tens of thousands of moments were never captured on Chicago Police body cameras. Lax oversight allows it to happen”

Cutting the NYPD police budget by $1 billion is not enough for protesters and advocacy groups, but three criminologists from the city’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice said defunding the police is not going to be easy. “Defunding the police is kind of one of those generic terms that means different things for differentContinue reading “Pavementpieces.com: Criminologists question what it means to “defund the police””

Village police department approves body cameras for officers…