Month: February 2024

Virtual-reality could assist researchers in decoding how emotions spur a decision to commit a crime. Full story: Virtual Bar Scenes Are a New Tool to Study Why People Commit Crimes in the Heat of the Moment | Scientific American

Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general at the Justice Department (DoJ), announced last week the launch of Justice AI – a new initiative that aims to understand and prepare for how the emerging technology will affect the criminal justice system. Full story: DoJ Launches ‘Justice AI’ to Study Use of AI in Criminal Justice

Should noncitizens be able to serve as Denver police officers and firefighters? Some Denver City Council members want to change the city’s charter to make it possible. Right now, Denver’s city charter requires anyone applying to become a police officer or firefighter to be a U.S. citizen. Denver City Council President Jamie Torres says that…

Violent assaults on police officers have risen sharply in recent years, according to the comprehensive data included in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Uniform Crime Reports. But those assaults rarely turn fatal: From 2004 to 2023, 11 Minnesota police officers died in the line of duty, according to the BCA data. That relative rarity is…

Two police officers and a firefighter were killed in Minnesota while responding to a domestic dispute involving a suspect previously convicted of assault and accused of domestic violence, a type of call experts say can be among the most dangerous for first responders and those they’re trying to help. Though each case is unique, domestic…

Deputy Chief John McMahon discusses the LAPD’s adoption of advanced technologies, aiming to boost efficiency, improve community interaction and address the policing challenges of tomorrow… Full story: Leading the digital beat: LAPD’s deputy chief talks technology’s role in shaping the future of policing

Ballot Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, created a new role for law enforcement in Oregon. While there’s evidence people living with addiction in the state are increasingly finding their way into treatment, the failure to turn police encounters into successful on-ramps to rehab has been cited by critics as prime evidence the measure…

The Justice Department’s No. 2 official is directing federal prosecutors to try imposing harsher penalties against criminals who’ve used AI to advance their misconduct. “Going forward, where Department of Justice prosecutors can seek stiffer sentences for offenses made significantly more dangerous by the misuse of AI, they will,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Wednesday…

Atlanta Police are searching for two opponents of the city’s controversial public safety training center who set fire to an officer’s patrol car outside his home in Lakewood Heights. The incident occurred before dawn on Saturday morning. Several social media accounts connected to the “Stop Cop City” movement claimed responsibility and said more acts of…

A New Mexico police officer was fatally stabbed over the weekend while responding to a trespassing report and a witness to the attack apparently shot and killed the suspect before calling on the officer’s radio for help, authorities said Monday. The fatal stabbing and shooting took place late Sunday in Las Cruces, about 225 miles…