Tag: Criminal Justice System

Police solve just 2% of all major crimes

When police arrest a suspect who is then convicted of the crime, it is a rare exception rather than the rule in the US.
— Read on theconversation.com/police-solve-just-2-of-all-major-crimes-143878

Commentary: How can the Criminal Justice System be this massive trap of Mass Incarceration when only 2% of the crimes that carry the longest prison sentence end in conviction. I’m not sure how plea deals are calculated seeing that 90% of all court cases end in a plea deal. Some of the thoughts here are that criminals are prolific and they eventually get caught, so the arrest of one criminal may stop 20-30 future crimes. Some criminals commit very few crimes and stop either forever or for long periods of time.

NOTABLE: Publications from the links in the article

How Effective Are Police? The Problem of Clearance Rates and Criminal Accountability
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3566383

Most violent and property crimes in the U.S. go unsolved
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/01/most-violent-and-property-crimes-in-the-u-s-go-unsolved/

Alternatives to Arrest for Young People
https://www.nlc.org/resource/alternatives-to-arrest-for-young-people/

City of Rochester | Executive Order 203 – New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative

In response to growing social unrest occurring across the country, on June 12, 2020, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed Executive Order 203 requiring each local government in N.Y. State to adopt a policing reform plan that will maintain public safety while building mutual trust and respect between police and the communities they serve. 
— Read on www.cityofrochester.gov/executiveorder203/

Traffic Without the Police by Jordan Blair Woods :: SSRN

This is part of an agenda drive movement to eliminate the police. Very dangerous thinking! There is no circumstance where citizens would be safer without police. Here is the other side. Choose for yourself.

We are at a watershed moment in which growing national protest and public outcry over police injustice and brutality, especially against people of color, are an
— Read on papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm

Forensic Science

REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods

“Forensic science” has been defined as the application of scientific or technical practices to the recognition, collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence for criminal and civil law or regulatory issues. Developments over the past two decades—including the exoneration of defendants who had been wrongfully convicted based in part on forensic-science evidence, a variety of studies of the scientific underpinnings of the forensic disciplines, reviews of expert testimony based on forensic findings, and scandals in state crime laboratories—have called increasing attention to the question of the validity and reliability of some important forms of forensic evidence and of testimony based upon them. Get a copy of the report HERE

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward

The Senate Report also sets forth the charge to the Forensic Science Committee, instructing it to:

  1. assess the present and future resource needs of the forensic science community, to include State and local crime labs, medical examin-ers, and coroners;
  2. make recommendations for maximizing the use of forensic tech-nologies and techniques to solve crimes, investigate deaths, and protect the public;
  3. identify potential scientific advances that may assist law enforce-ment in using forensic technologies and techniques to protect the public;
  4. make recommendations for programs that will increase the number of qualified forensic scientists and medical examiners available to work in public crime laboratories;
  5. disseminate best practices and guidelines concerning the collection and analysis of forensic evidence to help ensure quality and con-sistency in the use of forensic technologies and techniques to solve crimes, investigate deaths, and protect the public;
  6. examine the role of the forensic community in the homeland secu-rity mission;
  7. [examine] interoperability of Automated Fingerprint Information Systems [AFIS]; and
  8. examine additional issues pertaining to forensic science as deter-mined by the Committee.

Get the Senate report HERE