North Penn Tactical Response Team of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, practicing Cellular Team Tactics / Photo by Tim McAteer, Wikimedia Commons To find the origins of modern militarized policing, we have to look back to the Cold War. By Dr. Joy Rohde / 10.22.2014 Assistant Professor of Public Policy University of Michigan To find the origins[…]
A police box is set to go up for auction / Photo by Rightmove In attempting to stay one step ahead of the criminal, the Police began to exploit the newly invented telephone technology by setting up a pioneering network in Glasgow in the early 1890s, which allowed policemen to stay in touch via signal[…]
Gloucestershire Constabulary at Northleach 1850s Pictures of Victorian policemen contain varied, conflicting and interacting strands of meaning. By Jane M. Card / 08.27.2018 Historian Introduction Images from the past are never to be taken at face value since, made according to contemporary visual conventions and artistic tastes, they reflect not objective reality but contemporary opinions[…]
Gordon County Courthouse in Calhoun, GA / Photo by Brent Moore, Creative Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.12.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief The requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt has this vital role in our criminal procedure for cogent reasons. The accused, during a criminal prosecution, has at stake interests of immense importance,[…]
Latent fingermarks dusted with micronised Egyptian blue on a $20 note, viewed in the Near Infrared. Simon Lewis, Author provided By Ivy Shih and Dr. Simon Lewis / 05.29.2016 Shih: Editor, The Conversation Lewis: Professor of Forensics and Analytical Chemistry, Curtin University It was during a trip to Indianapolis that Professor Simon Lewis, a[…]
Year-long study of almost 2,000 officers across UK and US forces shows introduction of wearable cameras led to a 93% drop in complaints made against police by the public – suggesting the cameras result in behavioural changes that ‘cool down’ potentially volatile encounters. 09.29.2016 Body-worn cameras are fast becoming standard kit for frontline law enforcers,[…]
The NYPD’s controversial use of “stop-and-frisk” was struck down in 2013 by a federal judge, who found it unconstitutional. (Photo: Reuters) ‘The idea of creating a national stop-and-frisk policy is the equivalent of advancing martial law and is beyond the constitutional power of the presidency’ By Nika Knight / 09.22.2016 As the nation reels from[…]
Frederick Harran is the public safety director of the Bensalem Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, which has used the DNA program to solve burglaries. “This has probably been the greatest innovation in local law enforcement since the bulletproof vest,” he said. / Greg Kahn, special to ProPublica Police in Florida and other states are building[…]
“This opinion strongly reinforces the strength of our constitutional privacy rights in the digital age,” the ACLU said. (Photo: sj carey/flickr/cc) By Nadia Prupis / 07.13.2016 For the first time, a federal judge has thrown out evidence obtained by police without a warrant using the controversial “Stingray” device that mimics cell phone towers to trick[…]
Tens of thousands of people every year are sent to jail based on the results of a $2 roadside drug test. Widespread evidence shows that these tests routinely produce false positives. Why are police departments and prosecutors still using them? Graphics by Fathom | Photography by Todd Heisler, The New York Times Story Co-Published with the[…]
“Free speech rules don’t apply to Silicon Valley,” observes a civil liberties advocacy group. (Photo: Ian Higgins/flickr/cc) Technology could allow police and government forces to stop citizens from recording abuses of force By Nika Knight / 06.30.2016 Owning an iPhone could someday mean being blocked from recording anything that someone in power doesn’t want you[…]