The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/policy-politics/)
A 1984 federal law allowing police to keep up to 80% of the assets seized from criminal suspects has driven up drug arrests while turning the War on Drugs into a cash cow for local law enforcement. But it’s also had unintended negative consequences, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study.
Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) was featured in a Washington Post-“60 Minutes” report on how he helped steer legislation making it harder to act against giant drug companies. President Trump said he will make a “major announcement, probably next week” about how his administration plans to tackle the “massive problem” of opioid addiction.
The Trump administration should ground its anti-crime strategy on evidence-based research and discard “ideologically-driven” approaches if it wants to keep Americans safe, former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday. He was joined by Georgia GOP Gov. Nathan Deal at the start of a two-day Smart on Crime forum at John Jay College in New York.
Starting Oct. 18, most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea will be banned from entering the United States. Citizens of Iraq and Venezuela also face heightened scrutiny.
The opioid epidemic is not a “Republican or Democratic issue,” says Gov. Mary Fallin. She told a conference on women’s incarceration this week that treatment and counseling should be considered legitimate alternatives to prison for individuals charged with low-level drug offenses.
Former FBI directors normally attend the installation of a new chief for the bureau. Washington is wondering whether ex-directors James Comey, who was fired by President Trump, and Robert Mueller, who is investigating the president, will make an appearance.
Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will reintroduce the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. The two-year-old proposal failed to make it through Congress last year, and the Trump administration may oppose it.
The Sandra Bland Act, which came into effect this month, has been called an “example for the nation” in setting policies for police reform and dealing with troubled individuals. Texas State Rep. Garnet Coleman, the bill’s sponsor, sat down with TCR West Coast Bureau Chief Joe Domanick to discuss why one of the country’s toughest law-and-order states adopted it.
Anti-fascist activists come from a variety of backgrounds and are only loosely affiliated. Some are veteran demonstrators. Others are youths in search of a cause, including one who told the Washington Post, “I wanted a purpose.”
As the state’s legislative session comes to a close Friday, lawmakers are expected to vote on a bill aimed at impeding the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants.