Advanced filters

Search Results

You searched for:  -

There are 1197 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • The FBI is supposed to track how police use force – years later, it's falling well short

    May 17, 2021 |

    The Guardian |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Five years after the FBI started tracking how often police use force, the majority of police departments still fail to comply and the FBI refuses to release publicly what information it has collected. The policy was enacted in response to the realization that no one had definitive data on how often the police kill people, use teargas, or other incidents of force. What little data exists showed racial disparities in whom police use force against. But compliance was made voluntary and the FBI made public release of the data contingent on 80% of police departments complying, a goal it's nowhere near.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Is new California police deadly force law making a difference?

    May 11, 2021 |

    CalMatters |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    More than a year after taking effect, California's law restricting when police can use deadly force has had some effects on police accountability and training, but a number of flaws illustrate how long and difficult the process of change will be. The Act to Save Lives, which limits the use of deadly force to cases when it is needed to defend a life, has been cited by prosecutors in two homicide prosecutions. A number of police departments have followed the law's training dictates. But many others have been slow to roll out the training, and the state is not requiring officers to take it to stay certified.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Failure to Thrive: NYC's $100 Million ‘Diversion Centers' for Mentally Ill Sit Empty or Barely Used

    May 09, 2021 |

    The City |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    Despite committing hundreds of millions of dollars to programs that make New York City's emergency response to mental health crises less punitive, a pattern of over-promising and under-delivering, plus pandemic snarls, kept the programs from getting off to an effective start. Two "diversion centers" where police could bring people in crisis, as alternatives to jail or hospital emergency rooms, either sit empty or have served only a tiny number of people. A program to send counselors with police on calls never got off the ground. In its place is a non-policing team that is having trouble recruiting EMTs.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Addiction treatment drug buprenorphine easier to prescribe under Biden

    May 04, 2021 |

    Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

    Radio Talk Show |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States

    Bupreneophine (also known as Suboxone) is a highly effective medication to treat opioid use disorder and addiction. It is life-saving, both in reducing the risk of fatal overdoses and helping people function better as they get treatment for their disorder. But prescribing and dispensing it is in many ways more highly regulated than the prescribing and dispensing of opioids themselves. A researcher who surveyed pharmacies found that many refuse to dispense the medication out of fear of regulatory sanctions or because of misplaced moral objections to medication-assisted treatment.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • ‘The fight has to change': Why Ferguson activists ditched police reform

    May 03, 2021 |

    Missouri Independent |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

    Decades of advocacy for more effective civilian oversight of police-misconduct investigations in St. Louis finally resulted in a new oversight board created in the wake of the death of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson. But that board has been rendered a "total failure" because the police found ways to keep steering investigations to their secret, internal investigative office and preventing prosecutors from working independently on investigations. A new mayor and a sympathetic prosecuting attorney promise to fix the structural flaws that have let the police continue to investigate themselves.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Shortage of paid caregivers keeps family members up at night, hoping for "something sustainable"

    April 30, 2021 |

    Michigan Radio |

    Radio |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Oregon

    Michigan is struggling to retain direct care workers due to poor pay, lack of benefits, and challenging work environments and responsibilities. In Oregon, however, an organizing campaign that allowed voters to have a say in approving a new state agency, "which would train direct care workers, and negotiate contracts with their union," has helped direct care workers in the state obtain raises and benefits. Michigan is now hoping to follow their model.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • The climate solution adding millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere

    April 29, 2021 |

    MIT Technology Review |

    Multi-Media |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    A decade after California established its forest offset program as a way to incentivize saving trees to store carbon, a new analysis shows that it might not be working. Loopholes in the program allow for people to claim credits for trees that aren’t delivering the carbon benefits they should and ultimately results in companies emitting more pollution than is being stored. While this program has provided economic benefits for several Indigenous tribes, some argue that “the program creates the false appearance of progress when in fact it makes the climate problem worse.”

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Why Participatory Planning Fails (and How to Fix It)

    April 28, 2021 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Participatory planning, or meetings conducted to gather input from communities, have proven to be ineffective. It turns out community engagement doesn’t always result in highlighting issues and improving the quality of life for those who are voicing their concerns. “Research shows that participatory planning addresses the needs of the older, whiter, and wealthier residents.”

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back

    April 27, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    A favorite remedy for systemic police misconduct is a civilian oversight agency. More than 160 cities and counties have such agencies, some at the insistence of the U.S. Justice Department. But, as Albuquerque and multiple other cities have shown, a common set of factors often undermine the effectiveness of such agencies. These factors start with structural defects, limiting the agencies' independent investigatory and disciplinary powers, and extend to strenuous opposition from police unions and their political allies.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • CSI Houston: How a Texas lab has remade the science of forensics

    April 23, 2021 |

    The Christian Science Monitor |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

    One of the first crime-lab scandals gave birth to a better way of ensuring the integrity and accuracy of forensic evidence. The Houston Forensic Science Center operates independently of law enforcement agencies, with a large staff of scientists and a healthy budget to correct some of the resource-related flaws of its police-run predecessor. Perhaps its greatest innovation is a system of regularly running blind tests as a quality check, to make sure the staff stays vigilant. The goal is to avoid the kinds of bad science that often contribute to wrongful convictions and other injustices.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

Solutions In Focus

Discover curated content about themes that matter to you, exclusively from the Solutions Story Tracker. Explore collections, resources and more.


Go to All Solutions in Focus