Use of Force By NYPD Officers Surged 20% Last Year

Use of force by members of the NYPD surged 20% last year to 11,746 incidents — a record high since the department began detailed record-keeping on the issue in 2016, according to a police department report quietly posted online in recent days.
Roughly half the incidents of force occurred in response to crimes or violations in progress, which often result in arrests. Incidents involving people in mental or emotional distress and encounters with prisoners accounted for 14% and 7% of the total, respectively, according to the report.
The department recorded just over 260,000 arrests last year, the highest total since 2017, when there were 286,230 arrests. That year, however, there were 7,369 incidents where force was used — nearly 40% fewer than last year.

Read More HERE

See the report HERE

How Ohio’s Mental Hospitals Are More Like Prisons | The Marshall Project

A steep rise in criminally charged people with severe mental illnesses has all but halted patients’ ability to get care in Ohio’s state psychiatric hospitals.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/22/ohio-mental-psychiatric-hospitals-care

Is Newsom’s CARE Court making a difference? What the data show – CalMatters

NOTE this is part 1 of a 7 part series.

Far fewer people are using Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court than he projected when he launched the mental health program to help homeless Californians.
— Read on calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2025/09/care-court-2025-data/

Dozens of felony cases crumble in DOJ push to punish protesters | AP News

The Justice Department has embarked on a monthslong effort to prosecute people accused of assaulting federal officers during protests of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
— Read on apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-protests-prosecutions-doj-arrests-591f155d50c13756842e033ea23f16d3

Vital City | What To Do (and Not To Do) About People in Crisis on Streets and Subways

How can the toughest problems of urban life be addressed in a serious, sustained way? The purpose of this series, which began with “What To Do (and Not To Do) About Subway Safety” and will continue with installments on disorder, policing and other topics, is to deliver to policymakers the best ideas distilled into steps that can be taken now and longterm changes that must undergird sustained achievement.
— Read on www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/what-to-do-about-people-in-crisis-on-streets-and-subways

Suicide By Cop? How Junk Science and Bad Law Undermine Accountability for Killings by Police — California Law Review

“Suicide by cop” refers to encounters in which civilians intentionally provoke a lethal response from law enforcement. Police and their advocates
have developed suicide by cop into junk science that serves as a broad defense against liability. This Article explores the origins and use of suicide by cop, and argues that police should be required to exercise a higher duty of care to protect people from excessive use of force.
— Read on www.californialawreview.org/print/suicide-cop

Episode 14: When the Police Back Off

There have been many questions about police proactive behavior and its impact on crime. In 2020 two events caused police officers to “back off” on their street activity. Dr. Jessica Huff explains the research into de-policing and how a reduction in proactive behavior lead to an increase in some types of crime.

Main Topics

Police officers backed off on their proactive behavior as the result of both department policy during COVID, as well as the social pressure after the death of George Floyd.

Street-level officers demonstrated a significant reduction in some behavior.

Backing off on proactive behavior was associated with an increase in some types of violent and property crime.

Get the podcast HERE

Police Brass Agrees to Suspend Officers for Violating Rights of Black Driver During Downtown Traffic Stop | Chicago News | WTTW

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that three tactical team officers assigned to patrol the Near North (18th) Police District improperly searched Limorris Bell and his car on Sept. 1, 2024.
— Read on news.wttw.com/2025/12/16/police-brass-agrees-suspend-officers-violating-rights-black-driver-during-downtown