SpotCrime Weekly Reads: facial recognition, police reform, mental health in policing

Facial recognition inaccuracies, calls to end CompStat program, sending non-violent crimes to mental health experts, licensing cops, creating lawful police accountability, how much do we spend on police, predictive policing comes under fire, police and surveillance efforts with big tech, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

Illinois’ Top Legal Officer Wants To License Cops, Just Like Doctors, Hairdressers (WBEZ)

Poorer Cities Spend More of Budget on Police, Even Where Crime Is Lower (Sludge) see also: What Policing Costs A Look at Spending in America’s Biggest Cities (vera.org)

FL Sheriffs Warn Citizens: Be Prepared And Get Armed (BearingArms.com) Clay County sheriff says he’ll deputize every gun owner if deputies can’t handle protesters (Gainesville.com)

A Look at Police Brutality in America (NBC DFW) see also: Cities with Black police chiefs have lower instances of fatal police shootings, research shows (The Hill)

California Law Would Reform, Broaden Police Accountability (Governing)

Boston city councilors are looking to send nonviolent 911 calls to health and outreach workers. Here’s what to know. (Boston.com) see also: Sacramento City Council Considers Police Overhaul, Oversight (Governing) and also: LA City Council approves first step in replacing LAPD with community responders for non-violent calls (FOX LA)

Television has distorted Americans’ view of policing (The Economist)

CRIME RATE

Jeffrey Epstein Confidante Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested on Sex Abuse Charges (NBC New York)

How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing Discount chains are thriving — while fostering violence and neglect in poor communities. (ProPublica)

Nashville DA will no longer prosecute minor marijuana possession charges (News Channel 5)

Co-offenders provide key to crime patterns by Flinders University (Phys.org)

CRIM-TECH

'Predictive policing' could amplify today's law enforcement issues (Endgadget) see also: The criminal justice system’s big data problem (Oxford University Blog) and also: Quantifying Injustice Just as a YouTube algorithm might recommend videos with more and more extremist views, machine learning techniques applied to crime data can magnify existing injustice (AMS.org)

Should CompStat be eliminated? A history and analysis of the crime tally provide answers (PIX 11) see also: There’s truth in numbers in policing – until there isn’t (Brookings.edu)

Detroit police chief cops to 96-percent facial recognition error rate (Ars Technica) see also: AWS Facial Recognition Platform Misidentified Over 100 Politicians As Criminals (ThreatPost) and also: Tampa Has No Plans to Discontinue, Pause Facial Recognition (Governing)

The State Of Surveillance: Protesters, Police And Big Tech (WUNC)

'Lawful access' bill would allow feds to legally bust into encrypted devices (NBC News)

Mark43 Creates Program to Hold Police Accountable with Data (GovTech)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

Local Hampton Roads police departments respond to releasing use-of-force reports (WTKR)

Effort to track police use of force in Pa. would lack racial data, public transparency (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

UNC FINED $1.5M FOR INADEQUATE CAMPUS CRIME REPORTING (WWAY 3)

New York State senator blasts requests, saying police transparency “unintended consequence” of police transparency bill (MuckRock)

Dallas Police Unveil New Policy To Release Body And Dash Cam Videos Within 72 Hours (KERA News)

PRISON REFORM

The Impact of Pretrial Juvenile Detention on 12-Month Recidivism: A Matched Comparison Study (SAGE Journals)

Behind Bars, but Still Posting on TikTok The lives of incarcerated people are usually hidden from society. On prison TikTok, they’re going viral. (Wired)

Data analyzes COVID-19 impact on jail populations (CorrectionsOne) see also: Covid Prison Data (CovidPrisonData.com) and also: State Corrections Systems Get Failing Grade in Response to Pandemic (TheCrimeReport.org)

Reaching out to dads in jail: Fathers and children do better when parental identity is supported (Madison.com)

The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences (Academica.edu)

DUMB CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK

South Florida Man exposes himself at gift shop after being asked to put on face mask (WCJB)

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