Detroit Area Police Department Used Images of Black Men for Shooting Target Practice

If the police still use those targets there should have been an explanation about the targets and its purpose or how there are used. Those targets have been in use for as long as I can remember. This could mean for 30 years. I would like to know the origin on how they were designed and why many police departments used them. They may have been free through the federal or state government. There was a dog, female hostage, and a white male with a chain or a knife

My PD adapted the targets by covering the weapon with other objects like a phone, wallet, other weapon, or non-weapon object. This way when the target would present you never new if it was a threat. The officer would have to scan to see if the target had a weapon. This made officers constantly disregard any stereotypes and focus on hands and if the target was armed with a weapon. This improved training. This should have been explained to the boy scout group.

Boy Scouts discovered the targets, some of them pierced with bullet holes, while touring a police department headquarters just outside Detroit.
— Read on www.vice.com/en/article/4axdp9/detroit-police-black-men-shooting-range-targets

Psychology, Not Circumstances | Manhattan Institute

Among many criminologists, advocates, and policymakers, it is an article of faith that the socioeconomic “root causes” of serious crime must be addressed in order to reduce lawbreaking. However, the enormous crime declines over the course of the late 1990s and early 2000s occurred without…
— Read on www.manhattan-institute.org/understanding-crime-as-entitlement

Philadelphia is setting a “curfew” for minors

“Philadelphia City Council seems poised to enact a 10 p.m. curfew for minors this summer in what Council members described as an effort to keep young people safe amid an unrelenting gun violence crisis”. See the article HERE (note there might be a paywall)

Is safety for minors the true goal of the curfew? Does the data for police calls for service and police contact show that there is a significant issue with youth and gun violence late in the evenings in Philadelphia? This is the biggest youth problem? Will a curfew stem youth and gun activity? It seems like gun violence is a more serious threat then being on the streets past curfew so why would a curfew violation deter youth being out on the streets?

The article has some links to some interesting articles. 2 notable articles are:

Two articles (that are not linked to in the new article) that are excellent resources for examining youth crime, problem solving, and determining a police response are:

The Philadelphia PD should take the time to be familiar with the “Pulling Levers” article by Kennedy it is a seminal article on the topic of specific deterrence. It also showed how Boston PD reduced their problem of youth and gun violence.

Tough-on-Crime Policies Important, Shows New Report | National Review

A new report finds that instead of cracking down on crime by reducing poverty through greater social and capital investments, crime should be tackled by enforcing strict criminal laws, prosecuting criminals, and sending them to prison.
— Read on www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-new-report-demonstrates-the-importance-of-tough-on-crime-policies/