Public Safety
Covering topics such as corrections, criminal justice, emergency management, gun control and police/fire/EMS.
A Tennessee program’s success stems from a yearlong commitment to housing stability, employment continuity and social support. It merits national attention.
Despite widespread support for the legislation, state lawmakers have failed to pass a ban on motorist handheld use of cellphones. From 2014 to 2023, 78 people in Iowa were killed by distracted drivers using a cellphone or other handheld device.
Louisianans across the state are being forced to decide whether to buy insurance policy from small businesses that may fail during the next big storm or buy from Louisiana Citizens, a state-backed insurer that offers costlier premiums.
A new bill would require Colorado law enforcement agencies to publish policy on the controversial "prone restraint", a technique that many critics link to the deaths of those restrained facedown.
It will be one of the most noticeable ways climate change threatens human health in the years to come. It could cause as many as 27,800 U.S. deaths per year by 2050.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation on May 1 that requires jailers to hold any suspect who is believed to be in the country without legal permission. The legislation gained momentum after the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
High-capacity magazines and cheap devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns have already raised the shooting fatality rate. Targeting them legislatively could save hundreds or thousands of lives per year.
Future in Context
Reducing traffic deaths is a compelling proposition, but it gets complicated when trying to make it so.
Earlier this month, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced her administration’s plan to end the Kensington neighborhood’s open-air drug markets by arresting people for low-level offenses that the city hadn’t targeted in years.
This year’s relatively snowless winter followed the record-setting season last year, when 93 inches of snow fell onto the city. The city budgets based on average snowfall, but the average is changing, forcing officials to revisit plans.
Maryland legislators are taking steps to protect workers and businesses affected by the port and highway closure. There are broader, indirect effects, however, that are creating additional uncertainty.
It also may harm forests’ ability to adapt to climate change and effect the way plants and animals interact with fire.
City and state leaders in the Milwaukee area are addressing a spike in reckless driving in a variety of ways, from increasing penalties to redesigning streets. The city has a goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2037.
The City Council unanimously approved a three-year, $815,000 contract with RollKall Technologies. The move comes in direct response to a 2018 audit that criticized the agency’s lack of oversight.
There’s a movement toward cracking down again on minor offenses. It raises larger questions about what transgressions we should be punishing — and why we should.
The Maryland Protecting Opportunities and Regional Trade Act went into effect immediately after Gov. Wes Moore signed it. The program will assist workers and businesses affected by the Key Bridge collapse.
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