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Policing blog
A Thought Experiment in the City That Abolished Its Police Department A labelled satire about a fictional city that abolishes its police, and finds that safety does not vanish but becomes something only those who pay can keep. Can Police Search My Car? Eleven Questions About Traffic Stops Answered Eleven plain answers about traffic stops and car searches, built on the Supreme Court cases that set the rules. General information only, not legal advice. How to Get Your City Council to Fund Police Hiring Instead of Slogans City budgets decide how many officers answer your calls. Read the budget, speak up at the right time and track how each council member votes. Start a Neighborhood Watch That Works Alongside Your Police Department A neighborhood watch is eyes and ears, not vigilantes. Here are the steps to start one with your police department, and keep it going after the first meeting. The 1994 Crime Bill, What It Actually Did and Who Wrote It The 1994 crime law was bipartisan and both parties later fled it. The record of what it funded, banned and did to prisons is more interesting than the myths. Defund the Police Was a Slogan Cities Tried and Then Quietly Walked Back In 2020 city councils promised to defund or dismantle their police. Within two years most reversed course, and the gap between activists and voters shows why. What Economists Found When They Counted Police Officers and Crimes Three clever studies, built on election cycles, a terrorist attack and terror alerts, point the same way: more police on the street means less crime. Qualified Immunity Divides Conservatives, and Both Sides Have a Point Some conservatives defend qualified immunity; others call it judge-made and unsupported by the 1871 statute. Both get a fair hearing, then a verdict. The 2014 School Discipline Guidance and the Commission That Withdrew It A 2014 federal letter warned of racially disparate discipline and many schools cut suspensions regardless of conduct. The 2018 reversal and the case for order. School Safety That Works, Lessons From the Parkland and Uvalde Reviews Official reviews of Parkland and Uvalde found failures of doors, communication and command. Here is what they found and what parents can ask a district to show. Qualified Immunity Explained, From the 1871 Klan Act to Today's Fights Qualified immunity is a judge-made shield on a Reconstruction statute that never mentions it. How it grew and why conservatives split. Myths About Police Use of Force That Survive Every Viral Video A forty-second clip rarely shows the law officers follow. Seven claims about police force, tested against Graham v. Connor, Tennessee v. Garner and training. Tennessee v. Garner and the End of the Old Fleeing Felon Rule Tennessee v. Garner ended the old rule letting officers kill any fleeing felon. The history shows why it had to change and where the Court drew the line. Graham v. Connor and the Officer's View in a Split Second Graham v. Connor says police force is judged by a reasonable officer on the scene, not by hindsight. Here is the case, its three factors, and its critics. Why Cities Cannot Hire Enough Police Officers, and What Would Fix It Police staffing shortages come from choices about pay, pensions, legal exposure and respect. Here is how the hiring pipeline leaks and how cities can mend it. Broken Windows Turns Forty-Plus, and What Wilson and Kelling Actually Wrote The 1982 essay behind broken windows policing has been misdescribed ever since. Here is what it said, what New York did with it, and what the record supports.