SpotCrime Weekly Reads: gun violence, homicides, surveillance tech

Addressing gun violence, pattern-or-practice investigations, community-led responses to public safety, the rising homicide rate post Ferguson, undue influence of surveillance tech companies on policing, improving crime data to make better policy, transparency in police departments, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

The People’s Response Act would establish a division within the Department of Health and Human Services to promote and fund community-led responses to public safety. (NBC News)

Richmond Police focus on community building to drive down crime (LEX18) see also: Cocoa police chief works to engage with community, be more data-driven (FloridaToday.com)

The Facts on Pattern-or-Practice Investigations (CenterForAmericanProgress.org)

New study ranks Kansas City Police Department one of the worst in the country (KansasCity.com)

American Policing and the Danger Imperative (Wiley Online Library)

Cops say low morale and department scrutiny are driving them away from the job (NPR)

Qualified immunity and accountability in policing (PoliceFoundation.org)

CRIME RATE

Violence interrupters offering a new approach to prevent violent crime in Dallas (KDFW)

Police-involved Deaths and the Impact on homicide Rates in the Post-Ferguson Era: A Study of 44 U.S. Cities (Sage Journals) see also: House GOP’s Misplaced Blame for Rising Homicides (FactCheck.org)

Street Light Outages, Public Safety and Crime Attraction (Springer Link)

Gun violence drops in Cedar Rapids for first half of 2021, police data shows (The Gazette)

Understanding Gun Violence: Factors Associated With Beliefs Regarding Guns, Gun Policies, and Gun Violence (American Psychological Association)

CRIM-TECH

Sarasota Police Department wrong to add its voice to body cam video (Sarasota Herald Tribune) see also: Controversial bill allowing cops to get early view of body cam footage clears N.J. Legislature (NJ.com)

The undue influence of surveillance technology companies on policing (NYU Law Review)

Procedural and distributive justice: Effects on attitudes toward body-worn cameras (Sage Journal)

Citizen app says it will get access to encrypted police comms (Vice)

Amid calls to defund police, departments struggle to finance cybersecurity (Newsweek)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

Improving crime data to make better policy (Data Coalition)

Lawmakers and state police aim to make police data more accessible with new website. The new website is a result of the Virginia Community Policing Act (WSLS) see also: In first year on the job, Henrico's police chief is working to increase transparency and strengthen community relationships (Richmond.com)

THE PRISON SYSTEM

1,000 inmates still stuck in county jails — creating dangerous conditions — because state prisons won’t take them, sheriffs say (Chicago Sun Times)

Can a spreadsheet improve fairness and justice in sentencing in Ohio courts? Some judges say yes (Dispatch.com)

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