Category: CRJ101 Intro CJ

Pittsburgh Police resume certain minor traffic stops despite policy against them | 90.5 WESA

This has been an interest of mine. How can a municipality dictate the enforcement of State Law? In this case vehicle and traffic law.

The below article has likes to the specific law and it allows for “secondary enforcement” but not primary enforcement.

The two violations I’ll discuss are expired registration and expired inspection. I am surprised that expired registration gets a pass because it’s a money grab for the State and expired inspection is a SAFETY issue and/or an EMISSIONS issue. Emissions! Hello environmentalists.

The main question is how can a municipality set aside a subset a laws and label them “Do Not Enforce”. Every other municipality enforces these laws yet in Pennsylvania yet in Pittsburgh these laws are purposefully under enforced.

What other State laws can be ignored? Theft? Damage to property? Assault? Murder? Or just vehicle and traffic laws?

When police take the oath of office the swear to uphold the laws and the constitution of the State and the municipality that they work in. How can a municipality have police stop enforcing state law?

The ARTICLE:

Pittsburgh Police officials say a city ordinance that blocks enforcement of certain minor traffic violations is “preventing them from doing their jobs.”
— Read on www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-01-12/pittsburgh-police-resume-secondary-traffic-stops-despite-city-ordinance-against-them

Race and Washington’s Criminal Justice System: 2021 Report to the Washington Supreme Court

See the report HERE: digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi

See ALSO

This is the Prequel Report that provides historical background to the 2021 report.
Research Working Group, Preliminary Report on Race and Washington’s Criminal Justice
System, 47 G ONZ . L. R EV . 251 (2011–2012), 35 S EATTLE U. L. R EV . 623 (2012), 87 W ASH . L. R EV . 1 (2012) [hereinafter 2011 Preliminary Report]. Because of the difficulties of providing pinpoint citations to all three journals, page references to this report will be to the PDF of the report released to the public as part of its historic presentation to the Court,
available here: https://perma.cc/6BV4-RBB8.

Weighing the Impact of Simple Possession of Marijuana | United States Sentencing Commission

(January 2023) This publication assesses recent trends in federal sentencing for simple possession of marijuana, as well as how prior sentences for simple possession affect criminal history calculations under the guidelines.
— Read on www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/weighing-impact-simple-possession-marijuana

The System: Race and Policing | The Marshall Project

Here is a view that Police were organized to protect the rich and enforce laws against minorities. Some have strong beliefs on this. Check out the various articles and the links within the articles and see if you are in agreement or do they challenge your views?

Police forces in the U.S. were originally founded to secure private property—including human beings.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2020/10/21/race-and-policing

The System: The Future of Policing | The Marshall Project

The link below has several links to various articles that discuss police reform. Each of these articles have several links. This is a liberal perspective on police reform. Check it out see if it challenges or supports your view.

What do advocates mean when they call for “defunding,” “abolishing” or “reimagining” the police?
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2020/10/23/the-future-of-policing

Restoring Public Safety | Manhattan Institute

This paper is part of a series Policy Recommendations to Renew and Reform New York State, adapted from the Empire Center’s The Next New York series.New York was the site of what was surely one of the most significant government-led achievements in urban American history: a steep drop in…
— Read on www.manhattan-institute.org/restoring-public-safety

ALSO make sure to check out Rafael Mangual’s book at https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/rafael-mangual

Policy Recommendations to Renew and Reform New York State | Manhattan Institute

NOTE: Keep checking back new policy recommendations are added.

The following are policy recommendations adapted from the Empire Center’s The Next New York series, which aims to renew and reform New York state. Topics addressed by Manhattan Institute scholars for this briefing book include criminal justice, education, mental health, and…
— Read on www.manhattan-institute.org/policy-recommendations-to-renew-and-reform-new-york-state