Public Safety
Covering topics such as corrections, criminal justice, emergency management, gun control and police/fire/EMS.
Enhancements and weatherization efforts mean this year’s freezing weather did not overwhelm the state’s electric system. But policymakers face tough decisions as future load projections grow.
Data-informed solutions that prevent rather than punish can break cycles of violence and help neighborhoods heal, and voters support them. They just need to be scaled up.
FBI offices across the nation are increasing security after threats against law enforcement officers have grown following the agency’s search at Mar-a-Lago. Several Pennsylvania residents have been arrested.
After several years of pushing, the Phoenix Fire Department has officially launched its unmanned aircraft, or drone, systems program, laying the policy and best practices groundwork for other city departments to follow suit.
Since the state’s red flag law went into effect in 2019, just 228 firearm restraining orders have been granted across the state and 21 in Lake County, home to Highland Park. Some believe more training could increase those numbers.
Just two weeks after the city opened the door for police use of the technology, the council implemented more restrictions on facial recognition use, including a judicial requirement for searches. Some think the city can still do more.
The pilot mental health program launched last fall in the city and region has helped many people, but restrictions on availability and a lack of providers the teams are able to work with has reduced its effectiveness.
There are time-tested and newer interventions that have a track record of success. All of them are within the power of local officials and policymakers.
It can happen anywhere, and it will fall to the mayor to be the “communicator in chief,” setting the tone for the traumatized community’s immediate response and long-term recovery. The time to prepare is now, and resources are available.
Two states are leading the way in training and accountability guidance and policies aiming to prevent tragedy and trauma. Arrest should be viewed as the least desirable outcome.
The legislation, which responds to the Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down a New York gun control law, prohibits a person from receiving a license to carry a firearm if there is reliable or credible risk of public safety.
With fatal shootings at historic levels, Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency on July 21 and hopes to reduce the violence by 10 percent over the next two years.
In the end, we don’t know what kind of treatment might change the behavior of disturbed young people who believe society is out to get them.
Shooters have targeted members of particular groups, including Black, Hispanic and gay people. A few may have been motivated by politics as well as bigotry.
It empowers state and local governments, as well as individuals, harmed by gun violence to sue gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers for the violation of new state standards. The law goes into effect July 2023.
An estimated 7,265 pedestrians died last year, which averages out to 18 pedestrian deaths every day, according to a new study by Smart Growth America; an increase of 62 percent since 2009.
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