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 U.S. Forest Service has used fire retardant for six decades, including about 14 million more gallons in 2021 than the 10-year average. Some experts wonder if retardant is effective, and safe, enough for continued use.
The death rate of children 19 years and younger increased by 11 percent between 2019 and 2020 and by 8 percent between 2020 and 2021, the biggest increase in U.S. child mortality in more than 50 years.
Many in the state argue that the state’s lax gun control laws have contributed to an environment in which residents are too comfortable pulling the trigger. The Republican-majority state Legislature has not signaled they will change the laws.
Some parts of Fort Lauderdale saw 2 feet of rainfall in a single day, which is more than any city is built to withstand. It’s likely extreme weather cases will become more frequent with climate change.
The nation’s first biometric smart gun will use both fingerprint and facial recognition technology to ensure that only authorized users can fire the weapon. The creator hopes it will help reduce accidental deaths and gun suicides.
Black Americans are still being incarcerated at nearly five times the rate of whites. There’s much that state lawmakers can do to reduce inequities and make legal processes fairer.
The category 5 storm was the costliest hurricane in Florida history, causing $112.9 billion in damage and 66 direct deaths. Many residents cut their losses and left, but for those who remain, recovery is slow and ongoing.
Agencies are spending new money — lots of it, in some cases — to crack down on fare evasion, with new fare gates, updated collection systems and beefed-up policing. But some experts question the cost.
The sheriff’s office in Washington County is tackling concerns about equity in policing by partnering with an advisory committee of Latino community members.
Trains are getting longer. Railroads are getting richer. But these “monster trains” are jumping off of tracks across America and regulators are doing little to curb the risk.
A new law that will go into effect on July 1 will allow permitless concealed carry, which means no training will be required. Many instructors hope that gun owners will seek training anyway.
Everyone in the criminal justice system — sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, parole boards — has enormous discretion. Some lawmakers believe that authority is now being abused.
Many of the agricultural workers in Pajaro, Calif., are not fluent in English or Spanish and so relied on interpreters to get proper assistance and services after a levee broke, flooding the farm town and sparking evacuations.
The amount that fire victims receive after taxes and attorney fees is sometimes as little as just 25 percent of the original award. A state bill would allow victims to subtract wildfire settlements from their taxable income.
There were 17.9 million drivers in the state as of February, but as of March 9, the state’s digital driver’s license app had been downloaded 154,631 times. The state contractor has been paid nearly all of the $1.8 million contract.
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