Category Archives: Expert Commentary

Pavementpieces.com: Criminologists question what it means to “defund the police”

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””

NJ.com: Police don’t have body cams in 4 of N.J.’s biggest towns. Here’s why.

State officials don’t have a current count of how many police agencies in New Jersey use body cameras, but a survey by New Jersey Advance Media found that officers in four of our 10 most-populated towns don’t have them. Police departments in New Jersey and around the nation have rushed to outfit officers with camerasContinue reading “NJ.com: Police don’t have body cams in 4 of N.J.’s biggest towns. Here’s why.”

CNN: LAPD Audit Reveals Dangers of High-Tech Policing

Washington, DCCNN Business—An audit of the Los Angeles police department is raising questions about new technologies law enforcement is using nationwide with little oversight. Last week, the department’s internal auditors, prompted by a community backlash, published online a review of the LAPD’s data-driven policing strategies and recommended more transparency, consistency and oversight of the programs.Continue reading “CNN: LAPD Audit Reveals Dangers of High-Tech Policing”

Denverrite.com: Property crime increased where Denver pot shops popped up

A study released Wednesday in the Justice Evaluation Journal links an increase in nonviolent crime in Denver with the legalization of marijuana. The study looked at crime rates from 2011 to 2016 on 187 blocks where dispensaries opened following legalization. Blocks with recreational dispensaries saw an 18 percent increase in property crime when compared toContinue reading “Denverrite.com: Property crime increased where Denver pot shops popped up”

Chicago Tribune: Serious crime has doubled on Chicago’s ‘L’ system, despite the CTA adding thousands of security cameras

Reports of serious crimes on the CTA rail system have doubled since 2015 even as ridership declined and such crimes rose only slightly citywide, according to a Tribune analysis of Chicago police data. At the same time, the arrest rate for these “L”-related crimes has dropped, suggesting that even as CTA’s rail system has becomeContinue reading “Chicago Tribune: Serious crime has doubled on Chicago’s ‘L’ system, despite the CTA adding thousands of security cameras”

C|NET: Amazon Ring Alerts Often Tie Up Police with False Alarms

In May, police in Hammond, Indiana, got a suspicious-person alert from a concerned resident. She could see a man, she told officers, through her Ring smart doorbell. The resident had already sent police another message, along with footage from her internet-connected video doorbell, about an earlier incident. Now the resident was even more frightened, havingContinue reading “C|NET: Amazon Ring Alerts Often Tie Up Police with False Alarms”

The Post and Courier: When SC Residents are Afraid to Call the Police, Technology Alerts Officers of Gunshots

At 12:50 a.m. June 17, the sound of gunshots rips through a neighborhood in northern Columbia. A sensor relay picks up the sound waves, triangulating their origin — 5118-2 Mauldin Ave. Alerts are sent to officers, who converge on the scene, according to a police report. They recover seven shell casings from a .22-caliber firearm.Continue reading “The Post and Courier: When SC Residents are Afraid to Call the Police, Technology Alerts Officers of Gunshots”