SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Gun violence, databases, solitary confinement

Gun violence, stolen guns from cars, FBI launches police suicide database, US violent crime rate, racial divide in policing, gun violence, analyzing body cam footage, lack of data hinders policy efforts, freedom of the database, federal solitary confinement, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

BPD looks to improve service, accountability with tracking program (Bakersfield.com)

NYC Mayor Eric Adams names younger brother deputy NYPD commissioner, raising more concerns about conflicts of interest (The Grio)

Burbank Police are Improving Crime Measurement and Reporting (MyBurbank.com)

The American racial divide in fear of the police (Wiley Online Library) see also: The pandemic tanked traffic stops in 2020 — but racial disparities remained, data shows (VTDigger)

Ann Arbor may use federal stimulus to launch unarmed 911 response program (MLive) see also: APD 311 diversion helps with emergencies, creates backlog for low-level crimes (KXAN)

FBI Launches Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (FBI.gov)

Something Rots in Law Enforcement and It’s the Search Warrant: The Breonna Taylor Case (SSRN)

CRIME RATE

Violent Crime in the U.S. Is Surging. But We Know What to Do About It (Time.com)

The Data Are Pointing to One Major Driver of America’s Murder Spike. A massive increase in gun sales in early 2020 seems to have contributed to the recent rise in homicides. (The Atlantic)

A hard look at the numbers behind 2021’s record gun violence in Philly, and an overview of what’s being done (Billy Penn)

How is Tulsa going to combat gun violence? (KTUL)

Thousands of guns stolen from cars are falling into the hands of criminals, HPD data shows (ABC13) see also: Crime Stoppers unveils new institute, research center to combat rising crime rate in Houston (KHOU)

Homicides, shootings, robberies declined in Detroit last year, bucking other big cities (The Detroit News)

Tough-on-crime debate needs balance of effective policies (Daily Breeze)

Stalking Awareness Month: How to identify and report stalking crimes (WAVY) see also: The Pandemic Brought Our Family’s Harasser Out Of Retirement. Here’s How We Finally Caught Him. (BuzzFeed News)

Cryptocurrency-Based Crime Hit a Record $14 Billion in 2021 (The Wall Street Journal)

CRIM-TECH

New Tool Helps Vallejo Police Analyze Body Cam Footage (CBS Sacramento)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

A lack of data hinders policy efforts to address anti-LGBTQ2S+ discrimination (Oklahoma Policy Institute)

Despite Crime Data Obstacles, DA Boudin’s Office Pushes for Transparency, Maintains Advocate (The Davis Vanguard)

Iowa Senate won't allow journalists to work in chamber, in shift from longstanding practice (The Des Moines Register)

Freedom of the Database: Auditing Access to Structured Data (The Journal of Civic Information)

THE PRISON SYSTEM

Right On Crime Releases New Study: A Call to Reform Federal Solitary Confinement (Right On Crime)

Program set up to reimburse legal fees in voided drug cases (GoSkagit.com)

NY Will No Longer Prosecute Children Under The Age Of 12 (The Gothamist)

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