Public Safety
Covering topics such as corrections, criminal justice, emergency management, gun control and police/fire/EMS.
The people of Fort Myers Beach mostly survived. How many can afford to stay remains an open question.
Nearly 5 million properties in the Western U.S. could see higher insurance rates or claim nonrenewals due to wildfire danger alone in the next 30 years. Experts worry this is just one factor that could cause a housing bubble.
A new study has suggested that things could get worse for Florida and other states that are hammered by natural disasters because of a double whammy of rising rates and risks that could result in spiraling decline in demand and property values.
The long-sought reform took effect on Monday and abolished cash bail as a potential condition for release, changing the way pretrial hearings are conducted. State Republicans who mostly oppose the measure still have concerns about the legislation.
About 70 percent of those in the Florida county’s jail are classified as undergoing treatment for a mental health condition, making it the largest psychiatric institution in the state. The jail spends $848,000 a day to “warehouse” the inmates.
Kansas’ safeguards for identifying and weeding out problematic officers are incomplete or not enforced. The lack of thorough background checks allows officers to keep troubling details hidden.
Mayor Jacob Frey’s 2024 budget includes millions set aside over the next two years to comply with court orders to end racist and unconstitutional policing in a plan for new spending and new positions.
The state law that went into effect on July 1 enacts a series of immigration-related restrictions, which has deterred many undocumented workers from assisting in the debris clearing and rebuilding after a storm.
School officials are implementing new rules to prevent bullying and improve the mental health of teens. But some of the new policies, like a cellphone ban, are controversial. In 2021, 16 percent of high schoolers said they had been cyber bullied.
Superior Court Judge Rupal Shah dismissed a lawsuit against the state Police Union that attempted to stop the release of names of at least 130 troopers who potentially wrote more than 25,000 false or inaccurate traffic tickets.
Forces around the country are employing civilian investigators and online reporting to address workforce shortages among armed personnel.
D.C.’s program illustrates the growing promise of "stat" programs, with data and analytics enabling a new era of processes and insights.
The department’s database violates the civil rights of Black and Hispanic young people by being too quick to add names and too slow to remove them, putting youth at risk of false arrest and wrongful deportation.
In 1984, about 19,000 volunteer firefighters staffed stations across the state; today, the numbers have decreased to just around 10,000. For many parts of the state, the loss of volunteer teams could have devastating impacts.
The account run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency covering emergency aid for disasters is projected to have a $4.8 billion shortfall by the end of the month. But replenishing the fund is proving to be politically challenging.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the formation of a safety task force that will be charged with finding ways to improve safety on school buses, including possibly requiring seat belts. Last week an Ohio school bus crashed, killing one student and injuring 23.
