SpotCrime Weekly Reads: racial disparities, mental health, gun violence

Justice in Policing Act, minimum wage, gun violence, mental health calls, inmate mortality rates, how terrorism transformed law enforcement, racial disparities in policing, legalizing marijuana, what caused the 2020 murder spike, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

House to Vote on George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (Milwaukee Community Journal)

Why Cops Don’t Talk About Suicide (TheCrimeReport.org)

Dayton-area police agencies using special teams on mental health calls (DaytonDailyNews) see also: Orlando launching pilot program to send mental health professionals to nonviolent calls for service (WFTV) and also: Bello task force calls for expansion of mental health response programs (Rochester City Newspaper)

The Impact of Terrorism on the Transformation of Law Enforcement in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada Since the 1960s: The Relevance of 9/11 to the Thin Blue Line (Academia.edu)

"Good Cops Are Afraid." The Toll of Unchecked Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro (Academia.edu)

Solving racial disparities in policing (The Harvard Gazette)

Plano Police Chief Initiates Administrative Inquiry Following Arrest Of Black Teen Walking During Winter Storm (CBS DFW)

Supreme Court to debate whether misdemeanors can be a foot in the door for warrantless home search (USA Today)

Outside Review Calls for Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to Expand Use of Civilian Roles (Noozhawk)

CRIME RATE

What drove the historically large murder spike in 2020? The pandemic, police violence, and more guns all contributed to an unprecedented rise in murders across the United States. (The Intercept)

Yearly Cost of Crime in U.S. $2.6 Trillion: First Estimate in 25 Years (PR Newswire)

How White nationalists evade the law and continue profiting off hate (CNN)

Minimum-Wage Hikes and Crime (City-Jounal.org)

NJ marijuana legalization is official: Gov. Phil Murphy signs legal weed into law (App.com)

Large retailers are paying for police protection in Oakland (East Bay Times)

Knoxville City Council unanimously approves $1 million budget amendment to stop gun violence (WBIR)

CRIM-TECH

Lawmakers Move to Ban Discriminatory Tech in Washington State (GovTech)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

Lynchburg police plan new website to publish use-of-force, complaint data (News Advance)

Two sets of books: Police misconduct hidden in private reports

THE PRISON SYSTEM

The Lost Souls: More Minnesotans are falling into criminal justice system 'gap' than ever before (KSTP)

Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway (ProPublica)

Training: Investigating your local jails? Reuters journalists share how to analyze and understand their new national data set. After filing over 1,500 records requests, these reporters have built the most comprehensive look yet at inmate mortality in city and county jails.  (Muck Rock) see also: Association between county jail incarceration and cause-specific county mortality in the USA, 1987–2017: a retrospective, longitudinal study (The Lancet)

DUMB CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK

Deputies release body cam video of women dressed as ‘grannies’ to get vaccine (WESH)

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