Category: CRJ301 Police Mgt

Deciphering Retail Theft Data Implications and Actions for Policymakers

Executive Summary
Retail theft is a complex issue with conflicting narratives. Some people believe that the problem is exaggerated by authorities and retailers who are struggling to keep up with a changing marketplace. Others point to personal experiences of theft and stores being repeatedly targeted by chronic offenders and organized crews. Unfortunately, traditional crime data sources don’t give us a clear picture of the situation.

This report explores the limitations of existing data and suggests ways for policymakers to get a better understanding of the problem. It uses New York City as a case study and shows how its challenges are similar to those in other cities. This paper also draws upon examples from other major cities that provide retail-theft data to highlight the commonalities and variations in how retail theft operates throughout the country and discusses some general strategies that could be used to address retail theft in cities across the country.

Read more HERE

Get a PDF copy HERE

How police misconduct is protected through ‘qualified immunity’ – WDET 101.9 FM

Make sure to listen to the podcast. A link to the podcast is on the website.

For decades, the doctrine of qualified immunity has protected law enforcement and other government officials from being held accountable when they violate individuals’ constitutional rights.

The rule specifically protects officials from personal consequences as long as they were acting in good faith.

The U.S. Supreme Court introduced the doctrine in 1967’s Pierson v. Ray to protect police officers from financial liability after they arrested 15 clergy members for breaching the peace after they attempted to use a segregated waiting room at a bus station.

The court revised and expanded the doctrine in 1982 by eliminating the requirement that officers must have acted in good faith and requiring that officers must have violated “clearly established law” to forgo immunity. However qualified immunity protections have developed over time to value precedent over good faith.
— Read on wdet.org/2024/07/09/how-police-misconduct-is-protected-through-qualified-immunity/

All of the Above: Prosecutors alone won’t end mass incarceration. But their interventions can mean the world to people staring down the many harms of criminalization.

I’m grateful to the five contributors who graciously wrote such thoughtful responses to the short essay by James Forman, Jr., Maria Hawilo, and me, adapted from our forthcoming book Dismantling Mass Incarceration. I’m encouraged that people with such depth of experience agree that taking apart our system of mass incarceration requires grappling with the question of progressive prosecutors, though we may disagree about exactly what that will mean about their role in the long term.
— Read on inquest.org/all-of-the-above/

City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson – SCOTUSblog

Question

Does a city’s enforcement of public camping against involuntarily homeless people violate the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment?

City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson – SCOTUSblog
— Read on www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/city-of-grants-pass-oregon-v-johnson/

See the decision here:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-175_19m2.pdf