All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice – written by a Secret Contrarian
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Carlos Baker was referred to a program that subjects officers to intense oversight. But Baker wasn’t enrolled before he shot Officer Krystal Rivera because a supervisor didn’t respond to an email.
— Read on illinoisanswers.org/2026/07/17/chicago-police-carlos-baker-krystal-rivera-personnel-program/
Key Takeaways
Cameras and gunshot sensors, alone or together, did not improve case clearance for fatal or nonfatal shootings in Chicago. A 15-year, matched quasi-experimental study of 6,068 fatal and 64,884 nonfatal shootings (2005 to 2019) found null results across every treatment condition tested.
Shootings exposed to gunshot detection technology (GDT) were actually cleared at lower rates than matched control incidents (25.9% vs. 39.2% for fatal shootings; 25.1% vs. 30.6% for nonfatal shootings), though once the researchers controlled for other factors, the difference wasn’t statistically significant.
Camera coverage (CCTV) showed essentially no relationship to clearance for gun violence, consistent with prior research showing CCTV’s investigative benefits concentrate in theft and disorder cases, not shootings.
The one bright spot: Chicago’s Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs), district-level hubs that combine technology with dedicated staff and crime analysts, were linked to 19% to 24% higher odds of clearance in nonfatal shooting cases.
— Read on policeresearchhub.com/why-shotspotter-case-clearance-depends-on-more-than-tech/
Experts say race and class factor heavily in perceptions of these gatherings, which are fueled by social media and can involve thousands.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2026/07/18/teen-takeover-police-curfew
The city’s most important shared spaces need a new strategy.
— Read on www.vitalcitynyc.org/nyc-department-of-sidewalks-agenda/
Twenty local police agencies have installed license plate readers and conduct thousands of searches a week of motorists — Cheektowaga in particular. Officials say the technology helps them fight crime, but critics call it unwarranted surveillance.
— Read on investigativepost.org/2026/07/16/drivers-beware-police-are-tracking-your-movements/
Camden, New Jersey’s homicide rate in 2025 was four times the national average – still high, but a marked change from when it was 18 times the national average in 2012.
— Read on theconversation.com/how-community-groups-activists-and-local-media-turned-camden-new-jersey-into-a-model-of-police-reform-282835
My essay on the topic collects the available empirical research. There is support for the theory that, as police across the nation pulled back from some forms of proactive policing after protests surrounding George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, homicides and gun violence increased as a result.
— Read on reason.com/volokh/2026/07/14/did-a-minneapolis-effect-and-later-de-policing-cause-firearms-crimes-to-spike-in-2020/
Open-source investigation documents many incidents of misuse and injuries across 16 U.S.
— Read on vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/widespread-misuse-crowd-control-weapons-law-enforcement
Why youths are rampaging in cities across America—and how to stop it
— Read on www.city-journal.org/article/teen-takeovers-streets-us-cities-looting
A repository of studies, surveys, and reports on the disparate ways white, Black, and Latino people are treated by police, prosecutors, courts, and prisons
— Read on radleybalko.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-racism-in-the-criminal
All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice - written by a Secret Contrarian
News and professional developments from the world of policing
A veteran police chief committed to improving police leadership, trust, effectiveness, and officer safety.
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