Category: CRJ302 Community & CJ

Killing of Corey Ruiz revives calls to shift power from police to communities

After bystander footage of police killing Corey Ruiz – a 38-year-old Black man in Madison, Wisconsin – spread online, many questioned why the officers were not wearing body cameras, a standard practice for more than 80% of police nationwide.

Police said Ruiz was wielding a knife and injured an officer; multiple bystander videos showed he was shot while already detained and on the ground. Ruiz’s family called for mandatory body cameras in the city, along with charges for the four officers involved. People across the political spectrum echoed the demand for cameras, including Madison’s police chief.

Within days, Madison’s mayor, Satya Rhodes-Conway, announced she would include funding for body cameras in the next city budget.

But local organizers say body cams are just one element of holding police accountable after harm has already been done; some would rather see community control over policing, and policies that reduce police interaction and address underlying issues, such as mental health services and homelessness support. (Ruiz was unhoused at the time of his death.)

Read on HERE

POLICE REFORM BY DECREE:HOW DOJ ENACTS ITS POLICING AGENDA | LELDF RESEARCH BRIEF | AUGUST 2023

Consent decrees are a blunt instrument for enacting police reform. The approach has proven ill-suited at enacting effective change in law enforcement agencies. These coercive reforms face institutional resistance from departments and their personnel and fall victim to mission creep from the unaccountable lawyers, judges, and bureaucrats who oversee the design and later the implementation of the reforms. The situation worsened significantly as the Obama Administration increased the use of consent decrees, a policy resumed under the Biden Department of Justice.

Often built on limited and flimsy evidence, the Justice Department’s allegations against police agencies put local jurisdictions in a near impossible position to contest civil rights violations findings.

Get the report HERE

Agents of Chaos and Cruelty: How the Trump Administration’s National Deportation Policing Force Has Attacked American Communities | American Civil Liberties Union

This ACLU research report, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, documents widespread civil rights violations carried out by immigration agents during the first year of President Trump’s second term. The report examines immigration enforcement incidents in eight states – representing a cross-section of the country and reflecting varying degrees of federal law enforcement presence and personnel surges – and found that over 400 of the more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents examined involved misconduct by immigration agents. The report ends with detailed recommendations urging policymakers to call for transformative change to our immigration system, in recognition that it is broken and dangerous to human rights.
— Read on www.aclu.org/publications/agents-of-chaos-and-cruelty-how-the-trump-administrations-national-deportation-policing-force-has-attacked-american-communities

Berkeley Police Accountability Board Annual Report

The 2024 Annual Report of the Police Accountability Board (PAB) and the Office of the Director of Police Accountability (ODPA) reflects the continued evolution of Berkeley’s civilian oversight system. Pursuant to Section 125(16) of the Berkeley City Charter, this report documents the oversight activities conducted during the calendar year, including investigations, policy reviews, community engagement, data analysis, and systemic recommendations.

Get the report HERE

Predictive Risk Scores in the Public Sector: Experimental Evidence from Child-Protection Investigations | NBER

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals.
— Read on www.nber.org/papers/w35540

City of Rehoboth Beach Releases Takeover Event Report

Independent review finds no evidence of police misconduct or racial motivation in May 19 response

The City of Rehoboth Beach today released the independent report regarding the “Takeover” incident that occurred on May 19, 2026. The Mayor & Commissioners voted during a special meeting this morning to make the report public.

The review was conducted by Max B. Walton and Lisa Hatfield of Connolly Gallagher LLP to provide the City with an objective, independent assessment of the incident and the actions taken by the Rehoboth Beach Police Department.

Key findings from the report include:

  • The independent review found no evidence of police misconduct.
  • The independent review found no evidence that the police response to the Takeover Event or the charges sought were racially motivated.
  • Rehoboth Beach Police Department officers acted within their authority and responded appropriately. Citations that were issued appeared to be consistent with conduct.
  • The charge of inciting a riot was applied pursuant to statute.
  • No further recommendations were provided.

Following the meeting, Mayor Stan Mills said, “on behalf of the City of Rehoboth Beach and Board of Commissioners, I would like to commend the professionalism of our officers and thank them for their service, on May 19 and every day, in keeping our community safe.”

Copies of the Report and the Exhibit are available here.

PSP Traffic Stop Data Analysis Reflects Impartial, Evidence-Based Policing | State Police | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA – As part of the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to transparency and fair policing, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) today announced the release of an independent analysis of data collected from all trooper-initiated traffic stops conducted in 2025. The report was conducted by a research team based at the University of Cincinnati and led by Dr. Robin Engel, Senior Research Scientist at The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs and one of the nation’s leading policing researchers. The report represents the latest findings from PSP’s traffic stop data collection initiative, which is designed to strengthen public trust, enhance trooper and motorist safety, and inform policy and training.
— Read on www.pa.gov/agencies/psp/newsroom/psp-traffic-stop-data-analysis-reflects-impartial–evidence-base

Get a .PDF of the report HERE

What 1,000 Studies Reveal About the Crime-Fighting Strategy Many Cities Abandoned | Law Enforcement Today | lawenforcementtoday.com

More than 1,000 studies and decades of research point to the same conclusion: proactive policing reduces crime. So why are so many departments pulling back? This analysis explores the evidence, the controversy, and the difficult decisions reshaping modern law enforcement.
— Read on lawenforcementtoday.com/proactive-policing-research-reduces-crime-analysis