Tag: Policy

Why Eugene is ending its partnership with CAHOOTS crisis teams

After nearly three decades of working with CAHOOTS in various capacities, Eugene officials announced the city has cut ties with the mobile crisis intervention teams effective Monday.

The complete service reduction comes nearly two weeks after the White Bird Clinic announced it was temporarily reducing service hours for CAHOOTS mobile crisis teams in Eugene to one day a week while the organization navigates financial challenges.
— Read on www.registerguard.com/story/news/local/2025/04/08/why-eugene-is-ending-its-partnership-with-cahoots-crisis-teams/82978680007/

Abbott’s Bail Agenda Could Swell Texas Jails, Test U.S. Constitution

Edric Wilson spent 18 years awaiting a murder trial that would never come. From September 2006 until his release earlier this year, he split his time between the Harris County Jail and state psychiatric hospitals, with little or no hope of release. For 12 years, he was denied bail completely. Eventually, a judge set his bail at $850,000, which his family couldn’t afford. So he kept waiting. 
Texas jails around 70,000 people at any one time, and more than half are awaiting trial, per the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. A third of jail admissions nationwide are for misdemeanors, and nine out of the 10 most common charges are nonviolent, including drug offenses and failure to appear in court, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
— Read on www.texasobserver.org/bail-legislature-abbott-jails/

Research at the DAO – PhilaDAO Data Dashboard

Research at the DAO
The DATA Lab at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) uses police, court, and other data streams to support a wide range of research on the criminal legal system. Following are DAO DATA Lab grant-funded partnerships, DAO research publications and published and ongoing studies with research partners. We work with external partners across all phases of the research arc to help develop impactful interventions, evaluations, and scholarship. This includes discussions around data sharing, data use agreements, and facilitating research involving Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) and DAO personnel.
— Read on data.philadao.com/Research

Racial Disparities, Total Traffic Stops in Vermont Dropped During COVID But Are Again Increasing Study Finds

Black and Hispanic drivers in Vermont continue to be stopped and searched at higher rates than white drivers. That’s according to new research examining thousands of traffic stops across Vermont.  

The research paper is the latest update to an ongoing analysis of racial disparities in traffic policing data across Vermont led by University of Vermont Economics Professor Stephanie Seguino, Cornell Professor Nancy Brooks and Data Analyst Pat Autilio.  

Previous statewide analyses were released in 2017 and 2021. They spurred conversation and, in some cases, racial bias training at some Vermont law enforcement agencies.  This update adds data from 2020-23 and examines both the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to investigate whether Black, Hispanic and Asian drivers in Vermont face racial disparities in traffic policing.
— Read on www.uvm.edu/gund/news/racial-disparities-total-traffic-stops-vermont-dropped-during-covid-are-again-increasing

York police departments merge after chief’s retirement | fox43.com

A York County police department announced this week it is merging with a neighboring law enforcement agency.
The Spring Garden Township Police Department said Thursday it will merge police services with York County Regional Police. 
The decision comes after the retirement of longtime Police Chief George Swartz Jr., whose retirement after 44 years was announced earlier this month.
— Read on www.fox43.com/article/news/local/york-county/spring-garden-township-police-merger-york-county-regional-police/521-76c72a95-456b-4843-aff9-a83ca922bc29

Police Services Study Spring Garden Township York County, Pennsylvania FEBRUARY 2024

Get it HERE

Despite Trump’s order, Chicago consent decree mandating police reform ‘will remain in effect’ | Nation/World | gazettextra.com

This is a unique position. Reform CPD even when the reform agreement has ended. Policing is local so CPD can continue to work on the suggested DOJ reforms. CPD is free to work on any type of reform it wants to. But why? Chicago didn’t suggest CPD reform until after the DOJ investigation called for reform.

CHICAGO — One of the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump this week seeks to end all federal consent decrees governing reform efforts by police departments across the country.
— Read on www.gazettextra.com/news/nation_world/despite-trump-s-order-chicago-consent-decree-mandating-police-reform-will-remain-in-effect/article_8ba2e73b-6f21-5172-ac69-c42b12cc83c7.html

Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: Consequences for Juvenile Crime | Journal of Quantitative Criminology

This was open access at the time of the posting.

The questions of when and how society should sanction juvenile offenders are subject to ongoing political and scientific debates. In this study, we use a p
— Read on link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10940-025-09604-y

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Strengthens America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens – The White House

EMPOWERING LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to empower state and local law enforcement
— Read on www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-strengthens-americas-law-enforcement-to-pursue-criminals-and-protect-innocent-citizens/