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SpotCrime Weekly Reads: AI, gun violence, bail reform

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AI chatbots in report writing, adopting police transparency reforms, fatal police encounters in Wisconsin, police radio encryption, AI deepfakes, link between local news and perceptions of crime, gun violence in the US, MD facial recognition policy, AI added to emergency communications, lack of transparency in police chief hiring, short term impacts of bail reform, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court?  (Associated Press) NBPD has yet to adopt transparency reforms recommended one year ago Department falls short on openness, handling officer misconduct, and a new anti-discrimination policy.  (The New Bedford Light) ‘A shoot can be legal. That doesn’t mean it was necessary.’ Fatal police encounters rise in Wisconsin  (Wisconsin Watch) Over and out? Bronx police radios silenced in latest encryption rollout as local journalists fear apocalyptic end to NYC crime reporting  (AMNY) Dallas names a new poli

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Transparency, AI, prison

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Focus on police transparency, recruiting police officers, Phoenix DOJ report, gun ownership and gun violence, stolen guns, crime trends, drones in rural America, AI surveillance cameras, real time crime centers, AI to overcome bias, sharing license plate data, facial recognition, youth incarceration decline, recreational cannabis on recidivism, bail reform, and more... POLICE CONDUCT New Mathis police chief focused on transparency, brighter days  (South Texas News) Why It's So Hard to Recruit Police Officers  (Governing) 'Important for our community to see': Phoenix PD releases records connected to DOJ report  (12News) Group protests outside Columbus police headquarters, demands transparency in deadly shooting  (WOSU) CRIME RATE Gun ownership and gun violence: A comparison of the United States and Switzerland  (CRIMRXIV) Stolen guns on the rise despite drop in certain other crimes, St. Pete police say  (Fox13) People are now blurring their homes on Google Maps to deter pote

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Violent crime dropping, gun violence, gun shot detection

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Uvalde shooting records, DOJ report on Columbus Police, co-response and homelessness, violent crime dropping sharply in major US cities, gun violence, permitless carry, teen homicides plummet, gunshot detection debate, body cam footage review through AI, police VR training, license plate readers, cheap jail and prison food make people sick, corrections staff charged with falsifying medical forms, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Uvalde City Officials Release Shooting Records That Provide New Details, Reaffirm Previous Reporting  (ProPublica) A Transparent Partnership Built for Wellness Using technology to enhance crime reduction deployment strategies, foster healthy careers and strengthen community partnerships  (LawOfficer.com) Justice Department Releases Report Based on Critical Response Review of Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police  (DOJ) County cops will take over tiny N.J. police department that is ‘severely’ understaffed  (NJ.com) Co-response and homelessness: the SEPTA transit police S

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Police misconduct laws, transparency, AI in criminal justice

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Former police chief facing charges over KS newspaper raid, police misconduct laws, CT ticket scandal, unmarked cruisers, campuses fail to report crime, crime and punishment in DC, Surgeon General's declaration on gun violence, Cleveland's summer of safety, drug use and criminality, Austin 911 system hacked, AI and crime analysis, encrypting police radios, Houston chief vows transparency, crime data transparency, AI in criminal justice, family incarceration and children's health, pregnant women in prison, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Prosecutors say they plan to charge former police chief over Kansas newspaper raid  (NPR) Little progress on police misconduct laws  (Cape Gazette) see also:  Police misconduct database offers too limited a look at disciplinary histories, critics say  (New Jersey Monitor) Feds Close Criminal Probe into Connecticut Ticket Data Scandal  (GovTech) Columbia Looks to Give Campus Police Arresting Power After Protests  (Wall Street Journal) One CT legisl

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Homicide rate, AI crime prediction, youth crime

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Houston ignored cases, NJ police discipline, traffic stop racial disparities, homicides falling, kids' online safety bill, image based sexual abuse, youth and delinquency, DNA, gunshot detection impact, AI to predict crimes, DA transparency dashboard, death in prisons, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Houston police misused ‘lack of personnel’ code for eight years, Chief Satterwhite says, leading to 260,000 ignored cases  (Houston Public Media) 460 cops faced major discipline in 2023, new report shows  (New Jersey Monitor) An Analysis of Racial Disparities in Police Traffic Stops in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, from 2010 to 2019  (Vera) CRIME RATE Homicides in U.S. Continue to Fall from Pandemic Highs  (New York Times) see also:  Crime in Austin continues downward trend, though homicides still above pre-pandemic levels  (Austin American-Statesman) LAPD warns residents after spike in burglaries using Wi-Fi jammers that disable security cameras, smart doorbells  (Tom's Hardware) Tole

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Police conduct, algorithms, transparency

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Police conduct in Pittsburgh, US confidence in police up, releasing body cam footage, drug smuggling networks, mental health and 911, violent crime spike during COVID, facial recognition arrests, deepfake AI porn bill, gunshot detection, police algorithms, transparency advocates worry about access in TN, bail law changes, and more... POLICE CONDUCT After Jim Rogers' death, Pittsburgh got a close look at police conduct. It may not happen again  (WESA) U.S. Confidence in Institutions Mostly Flat, but Police Up  (Gallup) Anchorage police now have a 45-day deadline to release certain body camera footage  (Alaska Public Media) Crime Labs audit calls for faster processing times of forensic evidence  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Why LA is pulling the plug on a 911 pilot that sent mental health workers on some calls  (LAist) CRIME RATE ‘I want her to worry about who’s waiting on the corner’: How one man uses Facebook to frighten his children’s mother and why police do nothing  (Chicago Tri

SpotCrime Weekly Reads: Transparency, gun violence, crime data

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New police chief promises trust and transparency, better crime data means better crime policy, racial profiling, Boeing criminal charges, family violence, gun violence public health crisis, active shooters targeting public spiked, Biden gun safety law, gun violence, automated license plate readers, gunshot detection software, body cam transparency, California in contempt over prison mental health staffing, and more... POLICE CONDUCT 'Trust, confidence, transparency' — Chatham-Kent gets new police chief  (Windsor Star) This police department's autism unit is saving lives  (Red River Radio) see also:  Alternative 911 Responses Can Build Trust and Improve Outcomes  (Governing) Better Crime Data, Better Crime Policy  (Council on Criminal Justice) Pinellas officers track where people sleep outside ahead of DeSantis law  (Tampa Bay Times) Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project releases annual report on traffic stops  (Fox61) Boeing should face criminal charges, prosecut