SpotCrime Weekly Reads
Crime is up...or down, the efficiency of AI and data in policing, the problem with stolen guns, transparency an antidote to fake news, plea bargains and bail a problem with the justice system, and more...
POLICE CONDUCT
Data shows Utah is ‘headed in the right direction’ with criminal justice reforms, report says (Salt Lake Tribune)
St. Louis Police Continue to Cite Blacks for Marijuana Possession at a High Rate (Riverfronttimes.com) See also: Florida Police Issue Hundreds of Bad Pedestrian Tickets Every Year Because They Don’t Seem to Know the Law (ProPublica)
Local law enforcement authorities support DACA in federal court (Houston Chronicle)
In Alabama, an official’s use of public funds and behavior toward critics have raised questions about the broad powers of American sheriffs. (NYTimes)
CRIME RATE
Year-End Analysis: Crime and Murder Down in 2017 (BrennanCenter.org) See also: U.S. Crime Rate is Stable, Victimization Survey Says (TheCrimeReport.org) and also: 68 Percent Say Crime is Increasing in the US
NYC is likely to end 2017 year with the fewest number of murders in any year since at least the 1950s (NY1.com)
Stolen Guns, Stolen Lives: Gun Theft From Legal Owners on the Rise, Leading to Violence (NBC10)
The Faces of Americans Who Died From Opioid Overdoses (TONIC)
‘CRIMTECH’
Anne Arundel gang task force will mine data for 'actionable intelligence' (Capital Gazette)
The Challenges of Prediction: Lessons from Criminal Justice (SSRN) See also: Even Imperfect Algorithms Can Improve the Criminal Justice System (NYTimes) and also: The Perils of Big Data Policing (TheCrimeReport.org) and finally: AI and machine learning will improve policing (SpotCrime)
Advances in technology are allowing investigators to fully exploit the data in seized phones as a rich source of actionable intelligence and evidence (CorrectionsOne.com)
Crime-fighting robot retired after launching alleged ‘war on the homeless’ (WaPo)
POLICE TRANSPARENCY
Lawsuit challenges Aurora’s ‘blanket policy’ of rejecting requests for police internal affairs files (ColoradoFOIC.org)
Transparency is the antidote to fake news (Neiman Lab)
Fighting hate with data: Releasing open hate and bias crime data (PoliceDataInitiative.org)
Oregon police misconduct: Keeping allegations hidden (oregonlive.com)
AMERICA’S PRISON SYSTEM
Innocence Is Irrelevant. This is the age of the plea bargain—and millions of Americans are suffering the consequences. (The Atlantic)
Private Prisons Offer ‘Poor Compensation, Instability’ to Employees: Study (TheCrimeReport.org)
Why hiring people with criminal records benefits all of us (FOX News)
Why are black imprisonment rates going down? Four theories. (The Marshall Project)
Dallas County judges give bail bondsmen financial breaks when clients disappear (DallasNews.com)
Dallas County judges give bail bondsmen financial breaks when clients disappear (DallasNews.com)
DUMB CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK
Body-cam video: Man resisting arrest plunges 40 feet off NKY overpass and keeps running from police (WLWT)Head to SpotCrime.com to learn more about crime in your city |
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