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St. Paul police credit jiu-jitsu training for reducing injuries — and excessive force settlements

Mara H. Gottfried

November 28, 2021 |

Twin Cities Pioneer Press |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

When St. Paul police studied controversial cases in which officers used physical force, they found troubling examples that were products of the training given to officers. So they began training new and veteran officers to use tactics inspired by the Brazilian martial art jiu-jitsu, which prizes teamwork by two officers to use leverage to restrain resistant people rather than using brute force, weapons, or chemicals. In the six years after the training began, St. Paul officers used force far less often, injured far fewer people, and cost the city much less money in settlements payments.

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Police Have a Tool to Take Guns From Potential Shooters, but Many Aren't Using It

Zusha Elinson Dan Frosch

November 15, 2021 |

Wall Street Journal |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have added red-flag laws in recent years. Also called extreme risk protection orders, or temporary risk protection orders, the laws give police and the public a way to seek a court order to confiscate the guns of a person deemed dangerous. San Diego County used available grant money from California to train police and prosecutors, and it now has used its state law more than any other county there. But many places in the U.S. use their laws rarely if ever, thanks to lack of interest or training among police and lack of awareness in the public.

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Meet the amazing people rewriting the narrative about LGBTQ youth homelessness

Sam Manzella

November 10, 2021 |

LGBTQ Nation |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The Ali Forney Center is the largest of several organizations across the country serving LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. It has seventeen sites and serves about 2,000 young people a year, nearly half of whom come from out of state. In addition to setting people up with stable housing, the drop-in center serves daily meals and offers showers and laundry. Advocacy programs and case managers help the youth find permanent jobs, further their education, or put funds aside to secure stable long-term housing. They also offer counseling services, support groups, and temporary employment for many young people.

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Community Rebuilds

Justin Higginbottom

November 01, 2021 |

KZMU Community Radio |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Moab, Utah

Community Rebuilds is a nonprofit that builds affordable and efficient housing – suitable for Moab’s very hot summers and very cold winters - while educating natural builders in the process. Anyone who is interested in construction, regardless of their previous experience, is welcome to intern at their sites to learn about natural building processes. The organization has built 52 strawbale homes since they started, a healthy and natural material that costs about half of what other new construction is per square foot. The program requires homeowners to volunteer about 20 hours a week building homes.

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A ‘shoot to incapacitate' policy puts Georgia police chief and town in the spotlight

Jamie Thompson

October 24, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, LaGrange, Georgia

The police chief in majority-Black LaGrange, Georgia, thinks the standard shoot-to-kill training police receive is unnecessarily lethal and lies at the heart of the breach in police-community trust. So he has trained his department's officers with a Shoot to Incapacitate strategy to give them an alternative when confronted by someone not armed with a gun. The department's skeptics were won over, and one managed to save the life of a machete-wielding man by the way he shot him. External critics say this approach is impractical, though it was copied from what's worked in other countries.

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Police Say Jiu-jitsu Can Make Them Less Violent During Arrests

Jamiles Lartey

October 22, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Marietta, Georgia

Police recruits in Marietta since 2019 have been required to be trained in the martial art of jiu-jitsu before they can go on patrol. Many officers stick with the training, and many other police departments are copying Marietta's policies. Supporters argue that jiu-jitsu, which involves no kicking or hitting, gives officers greater control and confidence in confrontations with potentially violent people. That, they claim, will lead to fewer uses of deadly force or Tasers. Marietta data shows that fewer officers have been injured, but members of the public get injured at about the same rate.

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In Venezuela, a Rum Maker Offers Gangsters a Life Outside of Crime

Isayen Herrera Anatoly Kurmanaev

October 16, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Venezuela, Sabaneta

Rather than fleeing or fighting the twin threats to its business from criminal gangs and an aggressively anti-business government, the managers of Venezuelan rum-maker Ron Santa Teresa chose to make peace with both through social programs that have calmed what once was one of the violent country's most troubled towns. The company's Proyecto Alcatraz creates economic opportunity for gang members, providing them with job training and psychological counseling. It also courted favor with the socialist government with a housing initiative for the poor. Both programs have proved a boon for business.

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Learning when to be hands-off

Jodi Hausen

September 30, 2021 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder County, Colorado

Although several Colorado law enforcement agencies have trained officers on how to de-escalate interactions with people in a crisis, including people with disabilities, the state in 2022 will become the latest to mandate such training for all law enforcement officers. The training is backed by a study that suggests it helps police better recognize and understand the reactions that people with disabilities might have under stress in a confrontation with police. Trained officers in Boulder last year successfully ended one potentially violent incident without serious inury.

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This program trains Detroiters for in-demand jobs with livable wages - and fast

Rhonda J. Smith

September 23, 2021 |

Detour Detroit |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Learning Center provides job training for in-demand roles that provide living wages. The programs offered continuously change and align with current employer demands to provide competitive opportunities for participants. Over 1,000 trainees have graduated from the numerous programs offered at DLC.

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Arizona program gives low-income parents a chance at career advancement

Emily Bregel

September 21, 2021 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

Single mothers in Arizona are getting access to wraparound services that give them an opportunity for social and economic mobility. The Pathways for Single Mothers provides comprehensive services that include childcare, transportation, tuition, and an emergency fund.

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