The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/policy-politics/)
The suit by the New Jersey State Troopers union is the latest example of a tug-of-war between police and state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal over expanding oversight of law enforcement. And, it adds to the growing backlash among rank-and-file police across the nation to calls for reform.
What could have been a national accord on race and the role of police has devolved into a frenzy of political posturing, campaign sloganeering and ugly partisan fights.
The House bill, crafted by the Congressional Black Caucus, aims to bolster police accountability and reduce the practice of aggressive officers moving from one department to another by creating a national registry to track those with checkered records.
If the bill passed by the Georgia General Assembly is signed into law by the governor, it will stiffen sentencing for those convicted of targeting a victim because of their race, color or religion, among other things.
Political jockeying over congressional plans to debate police reform threaten to halt progress on the legislation. Votes are set Wednesday and Thursday.
The federal government has had the power to jail or fine anyone vandalizing or destroying a memorial for 17 years under the Veterans Memorial Act. Protesters tried to topple a statue of former President Andrew Jackson near the White House.
The Justice Department moved abruptly to oust Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan overseeing key prosecutions of President Donald Trump’s allies and an investigation of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Berman initially refused to leave his post but quit after it became clear that his deputy would replace him temporarily.
Critics fear that appointees to the U.S. Sentencing Commission will favor more punitive policies.
Iowa may no longer be the only state with a lifetime ban on voting for convicted felons after the governor promised to sign an executive order expanding felon voting rights. However, advocates argue that the issuing of the order is taking too long. Some say it is not enough.
The House Judiciary Committee took up a Democratic police reform bill amid spats of yelling, cursing and head shaking.