Welcome the NYPD’s “PD 382-152” (06-15), née UF-250, AKA Stop Report, just FYI: This new “UF-250” replaces the old “UF-250” from 2002 that made an unconstitutional mockery of reasonable suspicion as laid out in Terry v. Ohio. (Also FYI, the original form actually called a UF-250 is long dead; long live the UF-250!) If the goal is fewer stops, add…
The latest Brennan Center report projects the 30 largest cities will see a 14.6 percent increase in homicide this year. You know the last time the nation saw a 15 percent annual increase in the homicide rate? Never. Remain Calm. All is well. But don’t worry, they say in their best “you are getting sleepy” voice. There’s no reason to…
This Kelly vs Bratton feud has been simmering in the backgroundfor a little while. But then when Kelly accusedBratton of cooking the books(something Kelly should be familiar with, since book-cooking constantly flared up during his reign)? Well, I’ll just sit back and enjoy the fight. And here’s an insiders’ tip: the good money is on Bratton. The NYPD took Kelly…
No. (Update: Actually, turns out a more people did than I thought. See the comments.) But lot’s of people are refuting the claim, nevertheless. Fivethirtyeight.com says: Scare Headlines Exaggerated The U.S. Crime Wave: If you’ve read reports of a U.S. crime wave this year and wondered how many cities it was really affecting, you’re not alone. Which headlines are these?…
This op-ed by Heather Mac Donald is the one I wanted to write. But I didn’t. And she did. The point, one could say rather simply, is that police matter as a force for crime prevention. That simple concept is why I decided to study policing and then became a cop. In the mid 1990s I got into this gig…
Justin Fenton on solving homicides in the Sun: A couple of decades ago — the last time the city saw so much killing — Baltimore’s homicide unit closed more than 70 percent of its cases. Veterans talk of returning to the office from a crime scene to find a fistful of tips waiting for them. [Former Commissioner Thomas Frazier broke…
Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore State’s Attorney, keep emphasizing that she comes from a family of cops: To the rank-and-file officers of the Baltimore City Police Department, please know that these accusations of these six officers are not an indictment on the entire force. I come from five generations of law enforcement. My father was an officer. My mother was an officer.…
A good piece of journalism in the Sun: In Baltimore, where there are an estimated 19,000 heroin users, including 9,500 chronic users, annual spending on the drug is estimated at least at $165 million. … When the brothers of one local kingpin were kidnapped, he came up with $500,000 for ransom. When investigators searched a stash house and home of…
You’re a police officer in the big city. This was your life’s dream. You like to help people. Once on the job, you realize it wasn’t all you hoped, but you still do the best you can. You have a prisoner in the back in your vehicle. It was a minor offense. But the law is the law. You’re driving…
I still can’t believe this guy got shot down by a cop playing whack-a-mole with his service weapon. The D.A. said: The evidence in this case shows the shooting to be accidental, and possibly negligent, but not criminally so. “This shooting is not justified, but also not criminal.” I don’t know if I buy the stutter-step no-double-tap explanation. But at…