The Crime Report

Policing

Should Race be the Only Factor in Promoting Police Diversity?

By Abdul N. Rad and Arthur Rizer | 13 hours ago

Better racial representation in our police forces is important, but a would-be officer’s residence can also have a major impact on making on improving a department’s legitimacy in a community, argue two researchers.

Courts

TX Court Stops Execution Over Bite Mark Evidence

By TCR Staff | 13 hours ago

Blaine Milam, who was convicted of killing a 13-month-old girl in a brutally botched exorcism, was granted a last-minute stay Monday over concerns about the bite mark evidence used to convict him and the possibility he might be too intellectually disabled to execute. It would have been Texas’ first execution of 2019.

Barr Tells Senators He Backs Sentencing Reforms

By TCR Staff | 13 hours ago

William Barr, who was known as a hard-liner on crime during his previous stint as Attorney General in the President George H. W. Bush administration, said he had “no problem with reforming the sentencing structure” as outlined in the First Step Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by Trump in late December.

Policy & Politics

Shutdown Affects Prosecutor Training, Immigration Courts

By Crime and Justice News | 18 hours ago

The 24-day-old partial federal shutdown is hobbling enforcement efforts across the government. The Justice Department cancelled a training session on the “dark web” and immigration courts have drastically cut their workload.

Immigration

Charities Help Migrants Released in U.S. With No Aid

By Crime and Justice News | 19 hours ago

As the number of migrant families overwhelmed federal detention facilities, the Trump administration has drastically reduced efforts to ensure migrants’ safety after they are released. More families are being released with nowhere to stay, no money, no food and no means of getting to friends and relatives who may be thousands of miles away.

Police Shooting

One in Three OK Officers in 2018 Shootings Unidentified

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

There were at least 56 officer-involved shootings in Oklahoma last year, and officers remain unidentified in 17 of those cases. About one in five police agencies nationwide declined requests for officer identities in 2016 shootings.

Policing

Pittsburgh Homicide Clearance Rate Jumps to 71%

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

Police credited community cooperation, improved technology and a Group Violence Intervention [GVI] strategy for improving a clearance rate that had hovered around 50 percent.

Homicide

Man Gets 84 Years For Killing of Chicago Teen

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

The man convicted of killing 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago was sentenced after he gave a defiant speech proclaiming his innocence in the 2013 shooting that became a symbol of the city’s gun violence. Pendleton had appeared at an event marking Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

Gangs

Eleven Indicted In Killings of Drug Informant, Others

By Crime and Justice News | 22 hours ago

Federal prosecutors said the defendants were members of the Black Guerrilla Family, a nationwide gang active in drug trafficking, murder and other crimes, were indicted in connection with the killings in rural Pennsylvania.

Kidnapping

WI Teen Was Sealed Under a Bed For Hours At a Time

By Crime and Justice News | 23 hours ago

Criminal complaint accuses Jake Patterson, 21, of killing Jayme Closs’ parents and taking her to a rural cabin, where she was held for three months until she escaped last week.

U.S. Department of Justice

DOJ Opinion Could Threaten Online Gambling

A legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could threaten the viability of online gambling that crosses state lines such as poker. The opinion interprets the federal Wire Act, which prohibits interstate wagering, to apply to any form of gambling that crosses state lines, not just sports betting.

Guns

Some FL Schools Have Trouble Hiring Armed Employees

Under a new Florida law allowing some school employees to be armed, some smaller school districts are struggling to recruit enough “school guardians.”

Bishopville riot

SC Prison Report Warned of Staff Shortages Before Riot: Paper

A report commissioned by the state found half of South Carolina’s prisons had fewer than 50 percent of the recommended staff. A month after the report was issued, a riot at the Lee Correctional Facility in Bishopville, S.C., left seven dead and 22 injured.

Research & Analysis

Drugs

Odds of Dying from Opioid Overdose Now Greater Than Auto Crash: Study

A study by the National Safety Council concludes the worsening opioid crisis now tops the list of the causes of “preventable deaths” for Americans.
Race and Equity

Diverse Neighborhoods Could Reduce Police Shootings of Blacks, Hispanics: Study

Researchers studying nearly 1,700 fatal interactions with police between 2013 and 2015 concluded that desegregation dramatically reduces the risks of black males being killed by police officers. Higher levels of segregation increased the odds for Hispanic males.
Prisoner Reentry

2018 Called ‘High Point’ in Restoring Rights to Individuals with Criminal Records

Some 30 states and the District of Columbia passed laws or enacted statutes aimed at helping people with criminal records overcome barriers to reintegrating with civilian society last year, according to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center. The most promising legislative development focused on ending restrictions on occupational licensing.
Juvenile Justice

Racial Inequity Hinders Juvenile Probation Reform: Study

Increasing family and community engagement with probation authorities, and addressing the system’s racial disparities are critical to keeping young people from becoming repeat offenders, according to an Urban Institute study of reforms in Ohio and Washington State.
Science & Technology

Forensic Science Reform at ‘Crossroads’

The government’s 2017 decision to shut down the National Commission on Forensic Science has slowed the movement to reform how courts treat forensic evidence, according to a UCLA Law study.
Policing

Police Tasers Incite Violent Encounters: UK Study

Cambridge University researchers studying the effects of carrying Tasers by British cops recommended that police keep them hidden from view to neutralize the “weapons effect” which they said incites aggressive behavior by both officers and suspects.

WORTH A READ

Viewpoints

Can Public Defenders be Reformers?
By Thomas H. Reed | January 14, 2019
Defense attorneys spend more time with criminal defendants than anyone else in the justice system. So if they care about better outcomes, they need to go beyond their traditional roles, says the head of the Milwaukee Public Defender’s Office.
Policy & Politics

Barr Will Call Completion of Russia Probe in ‘Best Interest’ of Americans
By TCR Staff | January 14, 2019
William Barr, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, will tell senators Tuesday it is "vitally important" that special counsel Robert Mueller be allowed to complete his Russia investigation.
Race and Equity

The Groveland Four: Racism, ‘Miscarriage of Justice’ and the Press
By TCR Staff | January 14, 2019
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pardon of four young black men wrongly accused in 1949 of raping a white woman recalls the insidious role played by the media at the time.
Viewpoints

Ban the Box for Colleges, Too
By Jesse Kelley | January 10, 2019
Finding a job — especially one that pays well —is key to keeping those with a criminal history from being rearrested. Removing criminal history questions on college applications will lead to better outcomes not only for people with records, but for society as a whole, argues an R Street researcher.

Featured

Bill Moyers Speaks Out on Justice. Watch the Video.

By TCR Staff | December 1, 2017

Moyers received TCR’s annual “Justice Trailblazer” award at a John Jay College dinner Feb. 15. See the video of his remarks here.

The Crime Report - Your Complete Criminal Justice Resource

Policy & Politics

Shutdown Affects Prosecutor Training, Immigration Courts

By Crime and Justice News | 18 hours ago

Immigration

Charities Help Migrants Released in U.S. With No Aid

By Crime and Justice News | 19 hours ago

Police Shooting

One in Three OK Officers in 2018 Shootings Unidentified

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

Policing

Pittsburgh Homicide Clearance Rate Jumps to 71%

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

Homicide

Man Gets 84 Years For Killing of Chicago Teen

By Crime and Justice News | 21 hours ago

Gangs

Eleven Indicted In Killings of Drug Informant, Others

By Crime and Justice News | 22 hours ago

Kidnapping

WI Teen Was Sealed Under a Bed For Hours At a Time

By Crime and Justice News | 23 hours ago

U.S. Department of Justice

DOJ Opinion Could Threaten Online Gambling

Guns

Some FL Schools Have Trouble Hiring Armed Employees

Russia Probe

Trump: ‘I Never Worked for Russia’

Policing

Phila. Drug Police Falsified Info, Hid It from DA: Report

Puerto Rico Shaken by Brazen Daylight Killings

CA Cop Killer Complained of ‘Ultra Sonic Waves’

Birmingham, Al., Officer Killed in Shooting

Urban Areas Stop Helping ICE, Conservative Places Start