SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Crime stats, FBI stats, AI

Hate crime task force launched, Sheriffs' elections, police misconduct records, police oversight committee, FBI crime stats, crime rate, perception of crime, border security, progressive prosecution policies, police drones, AI to detect weapons, AI and facial recognition, AI to detect fraud, gunshot detection, juvenile detention center, and more...

POLICE CONDUCT

Central Florida Hate Crime Task Force launches after $1M grant from Justice Department (WFTV)

Austin Police contract is signed with 90% approval from the police union and city council (CBS Austin)

Valdosta State University Police Chief resigns following third-party investigation (WTXL)

Why Sheriffs’ Elections Matter From immigration enforcement to abortion access, sheriffs wield a surprising amount of power in their jurisdictions. (The Marshall Project)

Pittsburgh’s police chief puts down his badge for a referee’s whistle (Associated Press)

Can Police Departments Be Trusted to Release Their Own Misconduct Records? Apparently Not. (New York Focus)

Burlington residents to vote on whether to establish police oversight committee (NBC 5)

City of Santa Cruz defends efforts to prevent and track sexual assault and domestic violence (Lookout Santa Cruz)

CRIME RATE

The FBI releases crime stats months after the fact. This new crime tracker is trying to be more timely – and the FBI is too (CNN) see also: Be Careful With Preliminary Crime Data Monthly crime data from the FBI is coming, here's why you'll need to be careful. (Jeff-alytics)

Stephenson County Republicans say public safety an issue, though sheriff says there's "minimal crime" (Northern Public Radio)

Partisanship Determines What Americans Believe About Crime (reason) see also: Smaller Majorities Say Crime In U.S. Is Serious, Increasing (Gallup)

Governor Newsom launches new CHP surge operation in San Bernardino to address violent crime (CA.gov)

Albany police data shows drops in crime but shootings remain up (Times Union) 

Jacksonville’s murder rate down about 50% from same time last year, data shows (New4Jax)

Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2024 (BJS)

New Data on Trump’s Border Security Record: Releasing Criminals to Jail Asylum Seekers (Cato)

CRIM-TECH

Police drones, transparency portal highlighted at Carmel State of the City address (Current)

How forensic DNA analysis can falsely link people to crime scenes (LiveScience)

AI Facial Recognition Surveillance in the UK (TechPolicy.press)

AI helped the feds catch $1 billion of fraud in one year. And it’s just getting started (CNN Business)

L.A. Metro Enlists AI to Spot Hidden Weapons on Trains (GovTech)

Suffolk police seeing big, small successes from gunshot detection system (WTKR)

POLICE TRANSPARENCY

Open Government Advocates Wary of Wisconsin’s New Police Video Redaction Law (Maciver Institute)

THE PRISON SYSTEM

Myths and Realities: Prosecutors and Criminal Justice Reform (Brenna Center for Justice) see also: Data Shows ‘Progressive’ Prosecution Policies Don’t Lead To Higher Crime Rates (TechDirt)

Workflow Automation Saves Time, Money for Idaho Correction (GovTech)

Criminal probe opened after inspector report on Dallas County juvenile detention center (Dallas Morning News)

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