Public Safety
Covering topics such as corrections, criminal justice, emergency management, gun control and police/fire/EMS.
Over recent decades we’ve moved toward a much more effective and humane system to deal with youth crime. Evidence and research, not hyperbole and hysteria, should be guiding today’s debate.
The state has the nation’s highest rate of gun violence per capita. Residents experience more gun violence than even those living in California, and a survey found that more than half of residents have experienced physical violence.
Some states have taken steps to shield their election workers from intimidation and harm, but there’s a lack of urgency at the federal level. A nationwide threat requires a nationwide response.
The city’s homicide rate was up 80 percent, car break-ins were up nearly 90 percent, vehicle thefts have doubled and reported assaults increased 40 percent as compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
Fast-moving wildfires have torn through the historic Hawaiian city of 12,000 and have damaged or destroyed approximately 270 structures. So far, more than 11,000 people have been flown off the island since the fires began earlier this week.
The agency will address its plan to clean an industrial site that is leaking cancer-causing chemicals and contaminating approximately 80 homes in the predominantly low-income neighborhood of North Texas.
Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Col. Erik Smith to head the state law enforcement department, which has been a consistent source of troubles for years, including allegations of domestic violence, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
Volunteer Florida reported that $32.5 million of the money was awarded in grants to groups such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Another $4 million was set aside for a small-business recovery program.
A new state law requires armed personnel on every public school campus starting on Sept. 1, a change intended to increase security and safety after last year’s Uvalde massacre. There are 318 registered school marshals across the state.
Advocates are resisting a police program intended to curb gun violence, claiming it targets young Black men. A report found that three in 10 stops and four in 10 searches by the teams had no legal basis.
Heat indexes in Orlando have surpassed 100 degrees 32 times so far this year, making this year especially dangerous for unhoused residents. There has been a 75 percent increase in unsheltered people in Central Florida since 2019.
To avoid putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some companies are using pipelines to inject the gas underground. But environmentalists and landowners are concerned about gaps in health and safety regulations.
The city’s Board of Education unanimously approved a $1 million contract to purchase X-ray machines that will replace approximately 70 existing machines in 108 elementary and high schools.
The agency inadvertently started a wildfire last year that burned more than 60 square miles after a prescribed burn went wrong. It was the third prescribed burn that went awry last year.
As climate change has brought on an increase in heat waves, a growing number of residents across the state have been affected by heat-related illness and death.
Experts are calling for federal regulators to implement standards to protect outdoor workers from worsening air quality, such as monitoring air pollution and providing protective equipment if necessary.
Most Read
