Tag: Police Operations

The Fifth Branch : NPR

Your house is on fire; the fire department responds. You are sick; EMS gets dispatched. Shots are fired, and law enforcement comes. But who responds when the call is about mental illness, addiction, or suicidal thoughts?The Fifth Branch is a special series by Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project, exploring how one community in Durham, NC, is transforming crisis response. Over three episodes, meet the people reimagining safety and support. Follow their journey to launch this program, ensure its effectiveness, and navigate the challenges of defining its scope.Episodes drop July 18, July 25 and August 1, 2024.Love The Fifth Branch? Subscribe to Tradeoffs for weekly insights into the complex world of healthcare. Subscribe at tradeoffs.org/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
— Read on www.npr.org/podcasts/1255347227/the-fifth-branch

Chicago Police Failed to Place Troubled Cop Under Strict Supervision Before He Fatally Shot Partner – Illinois Answers

Carlos Baker was referred to a program that subjects officers to intense oversight. But Baker wasn’t enrolled before he shot Officer Krystal Rivera because a supervisor didn’t respond to an email.
— Read on illinoisanswers.org/2026/07/17/chicago-police-carlos-baker-krystal-rivera-personnel-program/

Why ShotSpotter Case Clearance Depends on More Than Tech – PoliceResearchHub

Key Takeaways
Cameras and gunshot sensors, alone or together, did not improve case clearance for fatal or nonfatal shootings in Chicago. A 15-year, matched quasi-experimental study of 6,068 fatal and 64,884 nonfatal shootings (2005 to 2019) found null results across every treatment condition tested.
Shootings exposed to gunshot detection technology (GDT) were actually cleared at lower rates than matched control incidents (25.9% vs. 39.2% for fatal shootings; 25.1% vs. 30.6% for nonfatal shootings), though once the researchers controlled for other factors, the difference wasn’t statistically significant.
Camera coverage (CCTV) showed essentially no relationship to clearance for gun violence, consistent with prior research showing CCTV’s investigative benefits concentrate in theft and disorder cases, not shootings.
The one bright spot: Chicago’s Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs), district-level hubs that combine technology with dedicated staff and crime analysts, were linked to 19% to 24% higher odds of clearance in nonfatal shooting cases.
— Read on policeresearchhub.com/why-shotspotter-case-clearance-depends-on-more-than-tech/

Buffalo-area police making extensive use of license plate readers : Investigative Post

Twenty local police agencies have installed license plate readers and conduct thousands of searches a week of motorists — Cheektowaga in particular. Officials say the technology helps them fight crime, but critics call it unwarranted surveillance.
— Read on investigativepost.org/2026/07/16/drivers-beware-police-are-tracking-your-movements/

How community groups, activists and local media turned Camden, New Jersey, into a model of police reform

Camden, New Jersey’s homicide rate in 2025 was four times the national average – still high, but a marked change from when it was 18 times the national average in 2012.
— Read on theconversation.com/how-community-groups-activists-and-local-media-turned-camden-new-jersey-into-a-model-of-police-reform-282835

Did a “Minneapolis Effect” and Later De-Policing Cause Firearms Crimes to Spike in 2020?

My essay on the topic collects the available empirical research. There is support for the theory that, as police across the nation pulled back from some forms of proactive policing after protests surrounding George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, homicides and gun violence increased as a result.
— Read on reason.com/volokh/2026/07/14/did-a-minneapolis-effect-and-later-de-policing-cause-firearms-crimes-to-spike-in-2020/