The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/policy-politics/)
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.
By a voice vote, indicating overwhelming support, the House votes to roll back Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ expansion of civil asset forfeiture. Sessions has revived a program that has allowed local law enforcers to avoid state laws limiting forfeiture.
Since the 9/11 attacks, federal authorities have focused most of their attention on foreign “Jihadi terrorism.” That’s left policymakers poorly equipped to understand the threat posed by non-Jihadi American extremist groups and individuals, says a Congressional Research Service study.
A national police union official says cops were beaten down by a “constant drumbeat of criticism” during the Obama administration. While police are newly emboldened, critics say Trump is blind to the potential abuse of law enforcement power.
A forthcoming law to seal some felony records five years after probation puts Nevada in the front ranks of the 44 states and territories that employ similar approaches to smooth ex-offenders’ path back to society.
San Francisco DA George Gascón repeatedly clashed with Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio when he headed the Mesa, Ariz., police department. In an exclusive interview co-published by TCR and WitnessLA, he calls on prosecutors and law enforcement officials around the country to “stand together” in defense of the Constitution following Trump’s controversial pardon.
The Obama policy limiting police procurement of federal military surplus prohibited only weapons of war, such as bayonets, grenade launchers and tank-like armored vehicles. No police agency “could reasonably defend the use of that equipment,” said one expert.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges hosted a national conference on combating youth violence and fielded questions about a recent spate of shootings in her own downtown entertainment district. “It’s wrong, it’s bad, it should not happen in our city,” she said. “It did happen in our city. And we are doing everything we can to find whatever strategies we can to end that violence.”