Drones had been limited to dangerous situations but now will be used for routine calls.
Innovation must come with transparency, safeguards and human oversight. We need to deploy the technology in ways that enhance rather than erode public confidence in the justice system.
Properly trained and integrated into the school leadership team, they can be helpful in some ways, but they cannot fix societal problems and their presence can make students feel less safe.
Sweeping police reforms in 2020 stripped Colorado law enforcement of qualified immunity, a legal defense that previously blocked officers and sheriffs from being sued in their individual capacities in most cases.
Dallas voters narrowly passed a new city charter that mandates the Texas city maintain a police force of at least 4,000 cops, an increase of about 900 positions. It’s unclear when the city will complete the “monumental task.”
Some Metropolitan Police officers use Signal, a communication app known for its end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages, which raised concerns about whether the department is in compliance with the state’s public records law.
Public service videos featuring election officials and voices from law enforcement and the military stress the importance of secure elections — and that interference will be punished.
The Hawthorne Fire on Lamentation Mountain continues to spread. 127,000 gallons of water from next-door Silver Lake has been dumped on the fire so far.
A study has found that Black drivers in Chicago receive approximately 54 percent of automated camera citations, but they make up 70 percent of police stops.
The Legislative Emergency Board approved the funding last week. Spending on wildfires this year has reached $250 million, which is more than double the amount budgeted for the response.
Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the Aldermen’s unanimous vote to keep the gunshot detection technology, saying the system doesn’t work well enough to justify its costs. Some residents are worried that without it, police response time will lag.
The Community Outreach and Stabilization Unit began in 2018 and put behavioral health practitioners with police officers to assist with mental health and/or chemical dependency calls. The city plans to launch a new program next year.
The City Council approved a three-year, $336,362 contract with a gunshot detection program, which alerts police when it picks up the sound of a potential gunshot. Gunshot detection systems have long sparked questions of accuracy, expense and efficacy.
License plate flippers are commonly used at auto shows to allow drivers to switch between custom or decorative plates. But now drivers are using them to evade detection and cities and states across the nation are enacting laws to prohibit their use.
Designating them by law would go a long way toward addressing the many issues these critical services face. They have evolved over decades to encompass a multitude of responsibilities.
In 2020 and 2022, annual spending on the issue didn’t exceed $7 million and between 2013 and 2017, Philly spent an average of $9 million annually to settle police misconduct cases. But misconduct spending has since skyrocketed.
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