Month: January 2025

ACLU-KY Files Brief Supporting Us DOJ Consent Decree | ACLU of Kentucky

The ACLU of Kentucky, on behalf of itself and 14 other community organizations, on Friday filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the negotiated consent decree the US Department of Justice entered with Louisville Metro Government last month.  
— Read on www.aclu-ky.org/en/press-releases/aclu-ky-files-brief-supporting-us-doj-consent-decree

Episode 5: Procedural Justice

This is an interesting and straightforward discussion on Procedural Justice. More of an overview on Procedural Justice. The host Dr. Scott Phillips is a great guy that I know personally. The guest Dr. Justin Nix is a excellent professor that I follow on Twitter. Check out Nix’s website.

Procedural Justice is more than a simple buzzword.  It is related to police legitimacy, de-escalation, hot spots policing, and organizational justice.This week we talk with Dr. Justin Nix, a Distinguished Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University…
— Read on www.buzzsprout.com/2413505/episodes/16416693-episode-5-procedural-justice

Attorney for victim’s family in fatal Spokane Police shooting slams department after release of body camera footage

The Spokane Police Department released excerpts of body camera footage from the fatal police shooting of an unarmed 35-year-old man, David M. Novak, earlier this…
— Read on www.inlander.com/news/attorney-for-victims-family-in-fatal-spokane-police-shooting-slams-department-after-release-of-body-camera-footage-18356706

Old Saybrook Releases Damning Outside Investigation of Police Chief Michael Spera, Workplace Practices – CT Examiner

A long-anticipated study by the Police Executive Research Forum concluded that the high rate of turnover in the Old Saybrook Police Department was the result of a toxic and “unpleasant” workplace characterized by mandatory overtime, fear of retaliation, unfair promotions and an overall poor organizational climate. 

“In interview after interview, employees described an unhealthy work environment filled with stress and paranoia,” the report read. 

The study was prompted by persistently high levels of turnover in the department. In July 2023, with a staffing level of only 17 officers, Police Chief Michael Spera requested that the town increase officer pay and benefits to incentivize more officers to stay. But First Selectman Carl Fortuna said he wanted to be sure that increasing benefits would reduce the turnover, and asked for an organizational study of the department. 

Residents overwhelmingly voted in January 2024 to approve the study. 
— Read on ctexaminer.com/2025/01/08/old-saybrook-releases-damning-outside-investigation-of-police-chief-michael-spera-workplace-practices/

Get a copy of the report HERE

Catalog of Core Child Welfare Case Management Reports for Courts

This resource provides descriptions and general specifications of more than 40 Case Management Summary Reports, Case Listings, and Quality Assurance Reports, with special attention to their role in a court’s continuous quality improvement efforts for child welfare cases.
— Read on www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/catalog-core-child-welfare-case-management-reports-courts

The legacy of lynching in school policing

#AssaultAtSpringValley: The legacy of lynching in school policing analyzes 460 school policing assaults to assess the extent to which school policing places students at risk of physical and sexual assault. Additionally, the report utilizes two lynching datasets to explore the relationship between lynching in the U.S. and current school police violence, demonstrating that school policing assaults are acts of state sanctioned violence that extend the legacies of lynching into the modern classroom.

We also explore the importance of Ida B. Wells’ protest journalism that challenged lynching in the south.  Just as Wells told the truth about lynching, we must tell the truth about school policing and the false pretense of safety and public order. School policing does not prevent violence, it is a harbinger of it. It is the reason why many Black students do not feel safe at school and the means through which they are criminalized and denied the benefits of public education.
— Read on policefreeschools.org/resources/legacyoflynching/

Fixing ‘Broken Windows’ theory: Smart — not harsh — policing is the key to a safe and orderly city

If you’re familiar with the Broken Windows theory of policing, you may have learned of it, perhaps indirectly, from Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller “The Tipping Point,” published 25 years ago.
— Read on nypost.com/2025/01/05/opinion/fixing-broken-windows-theory-smart-not-harsh-policing-is-the-key-to-a-safe-and-orderly-city/