Category: Policing

‘Defund the Police’ Is Over. Now What?

by · Mar 8, 2023 2:58 pm

William Galston, the WSJ’s resident contrarian columnist*, has this column with the above title. Galston notes the political developments in Chicago, New York, and Washington and has this advice for his fellow liberals:

These events prove that dealing with the crime surge is back on the national agenda. Democrats must find a way to demonstrate their commitment to public safety while pursuing reasonable reforms of the criminal-justice system.

I have no quarrel with that statement, but the trick is defining “reasonable.” Continue reading . . .

The Consequences of Politically-Correct Police Recruitment

by · Feb 7, 2023 1:21 pm

On July 17, 2015 a white police officer shot and killed 19-year-old Darrius Stewart, a black man with outstanding felony warrants, during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee.  The incident was captured on video and made national headlines sparking protests with charges of police racism.  Both the Obama Justice Department and a Memphis Grand Jury declined to charge the officer in the face of evidence that Stewart had attacked the officer before attempting to escape.  In spite of this, the racist stain on the Memphis Police Department resulted in significant changes in the recruitment and training of officers.  Bernard Condon, Jim Mustain and Adrian Sainz of the Associated Press report that these changes included lowering the standards for experience, education and even ignoring prior criminal behavior, in order to recruit more officers.  While the reporters are careful not to say it, these changes were made to put more officers of color on the force.  One of the consequences of this was last month’s killing of Tyre Nichols.

Continue reading . . .

300 LA Traffic Deaths in 2022, Activists Blame Streets

by · Jan 18, 2023 2:33 pm

A story by Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times reports that traffic deaths in the city have hit a two-decade high.  More than half of the deaths involved vehicles hitting pedestrians or people on bicycles, both which significantly increased compared to prior years.  This comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that traffic fatalities nationally remained flat over 2022.  What is causing this increase?  The Los Angeles Times did not inquire into how many traffic fatalities involved an intoxicated driver.  With an estimated 69,000 homeless in LA, many using drugs, riding bicycles and wandering the streets, it might be that pedestrians and bike riders are part of the problem, but this was not reported.  Last March, the Los Angeles Police Commission announced that LAPD Officers were no longer authorized to make traffic stops.  This limits officers from pulling over cars weaving, turning without a signal, failing to stop at a stop sign or driving with an expired registration.  Losing the ability to stop a driver who is intoxicated and/or blatantly ignoring traffic laws might actually encourage traffic fatalities.  This concern was not reported in the Times.

Continue reading . . .

Go Ahead and Say “Never” on Bivens Extensions

by · Jun 10, 2022 11:32 am

Way back in Reconstruction, Congress created a civil cause of action against state and local officials who violate federal constitutional rights. Today, that statute is 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Congress did not, however, create a parallel right to sue federal agents. In 1971, the Supreme Court made one up anyway in the case of Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents.

The Court extended Bivens to a couple of new contexts in the early years afterward but soon came to realize it had overreached. In Wednesday’s decision in Egbert v. Boule, Justice Thomas notes in the opinion of the Court, “Over the past 42 years, however, we have declined 11 times to imply a similar cause of action for other alleged constitutional violations.” In Egbert, the Court declined to extend Bivens to a claim of allegedly excessive force allegedly used by a Border Patrol agent against an American citizen on U.S. soil. Continue reading . . .

The Correct Outcome in Vega v. Tekoh

by · Apr 21, 2022 8:06 am

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard argument in Vega v. Tekoh.  That case presents the question whether a plaintiff has a civil remedy against a police officer under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for obtaining a statement in violation of the Constitution, when the statement was later admitted at his trial.  In Vega, the statement was obtained from a suspect in custody without having first given him his Miranda warnings.  In other words, one pivotal question is whether or not Miranda warnings are required by the Constitution, in particular the Fifth Amendment.

An earlier case, Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000) seems to suggest that they are.  In fact they aren’t, and for that reason the police officer should win this case.

Continue reading . . .

Candidates for LA Mayor Divided on Policing

by · Apr 8, 2022 10:30 am

As the Los Angeles mayor’s race starts heating up, one of the top issues is restoring the Los Angeles Police Department, which suffered $150 million in cuts made by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the woke city council in June of 2020.  Some may recall news video of Garcetti kneeling with Black Lives Matter protesters the day before the vote.  Soledad Ursúa of the City Journal reports that while the City Council told the public that the funds from the cuts would be reinvested in non-white and disadvantaged communities, city officials later reported back that the money was being earmarked for street sweeping, tree trimming, storm drains, speed bumps and other services unrelated to the disadvantaged or reducing crime.  In the eighteen months since the cuts were made Los Angeles has suffered an unprecedented rise in murders, assaults, carjackings, commercial and residential burglaries.  With this crime spike and the police-officer-to-citizen ratio in Los Angeles now roughly half of that of Chicago or New York City,  the candidates for Mayor are being asked how they would address the issue if elected.

Continue reading . . .

The Crime Epidemic in Larry Krasner’s Philadelphia

by · Mar 23, 2022 1:00 pm

Crime is out of control in Philadelphia.  There were 562 homicides last year, twice as many than eight years ago, and homicides have increased by 19% so far this year.  The city’s Police Commissioner reports that last year’s 750 carjackings were triple the number in 2019.   For perspective, New York City, which has more than five times the population of Philadelphia, had 485 homicides and 510 carjackings last year.   A data snapshot from last year indicates that police arrested only 31% of the Philadelphia’s murderers, 14% of criminals who shot people,  and 11% of those committing property crimes.  “Far too many in our city think that it’s open season to commit crime here in Philadelphia,” said the Police Commissioner.  They think it’s open season because it is open season.

Continue reading . . .

Is the Ferguson Effect Real?

by · Jan 17, 2022 2:32 pm

There is hypothesis that a pullback in policing activity following high-profile arrest incidents and subsequent protests and riots causes an increase in crime. This has been dubbed the “Ferguson Effect,” after the location of one particularly high-profile incident.

But is it real? Charles Fain Lehman has this article in the City Journal reviewing two recent studies. Continue reading . . .

SF Mayor Recovers from Pandemic Wokevid Virus

by · Dec 17, 2021 2:52 pm

Two pandemics swept through America last year and lasted into this year. One, of course, was the virus that causes Covid-19. The other was the Wokevid virus.

Symptoms of Wokevid include (1) believing oneself to be “woke” while actually oblivious to reality and unable to speak correct English; and (2) bizarre delusional beliefs that defy logic, evidence, and common sense. These delusions include beliefs that reduced police presence and minimal punishment of criminals will somehow reduce crime instead of increasing it.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed showed unmistakable symptoms of Wokevid infection last year when she cut $120 million from law enforcement budgets. See this story from KGO. However, this speech Wednesday demonstrates a seemingly complete recovery. Continue reading . . .