Why the U.S. Marshals Spend Millions on Sex-Offense Registrant Sweeps The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops. Steven Yoder
How These Cities Are Breaking Up the Work of Police Departments As the country reassesses its relationship with law enforcement, Ithaca, New York; Berkeley and Oakland, California; and Austin, Texas, are defunding, replacing, or reducing the scope of their police departments. Eoin Higgins
Oakland Takes First Steps Toward Directing Some 911 Calls To Community Responders It will be months before the pilot program is implemented in part of East Oakland, but activists say it’s a move in the right direction. Eliyahu Kamisher
These Progressive Candidates Could Flip The Balance Of Power In St. Louis City Government Four first-time candidates could grant progressives a majority on the Board of Alders and transform public safety and housing policy. Eoin Higgins
Activists Who Helped Elect Birmingham Mayor Balk at Police Expansion Plans Mayor Randall Woodfin is increasing police funding and ignoring calls for non-law enforcement public safety alternatives. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Phoenix Wants To Shift Crisis Response Away From Police—While Also Increasing The Police Budget The trial budget includes a proposal to expand a crisis response program under the fire department, but also includes a $3.7 million increase to the Phoenix Police Department’s $745 million budget. Meg O'Connor
A Florida Lawmaker Introduced Legislation to Remove Traffic Enforcement From Police Cities across the country have begun exploring traffic enforcement without police. This bill proposes doing so statewide. Meg O'Connor
This Election Could Decide St. Louis’s Future The four candidates vying to replace the mayor are each promising to build a better St. Louis, and in a little over a week, voters will decide which visions they endorse. Meg O'Connor
What Public Safety Without Police Looks Like From San Francisco to Philadelphia, cities across the country are creating fully unarmed response teams to address emergencies that used to call for cops. Jerry Iannelli, Joshua Vaughn
What ‘Defund The Police’ Means In A New York Neighborhood With High Homicide Rates and a History of Struggling for Justice Although there’s a diversity of views about law enforcement in Brownsville, Brooklyn, there’s widespread agreement that the community is still fighting to obtain all the resources it needs to thrive and police itself. Abigail Savitch-Lew
Austin Cuts Its Police Budget by About A Third The City Council passed a budget that cut nearly $150 million from the Austin Police Department. Millions will be reinvested in services like violence prevention and supportive housing. Meg O'Connor
Austin May Cut Police Budget by Nearly $150 Million The City Council will pass a budget this week that could cut nearly $150 million in funding from the Austin Police Department. The proposal appears to have majority support. Meg O'Connor
Probation Conditions Relaxed During the Pandemic. Some Say They Should Stay That Way. Public safety is not improved by stricter probation and parole rules, researchers have found. Lauren Lee White
The Public Safety Myth Law enforcement’s old guard claims that policing low-level crime protects communities. That’s not just wrong; it’s dangerous. Rachael Rollins
