Category: News

Cellphones can track what we say and write, where we go, what we buy and what we search on the internet. But they still aren’t being used to track one of the biggest public health threats: crashes caused by drivers distracted by the phones. More than a decade after federal and state governments seized on…

When a gunman terrorized the Michigan State campus last February, killing three students and wounding five more on a cold winter night, students, staff and faculty scurried for shelter. Then they scrambled to find out what was happening. Many of them turned to Broadcastify, a private app that’s been making audio streams from police, fire,…

In a first-of-its-kind report released Monday, the Department of Justice found hate crimes at schools have steadily risen since 2020 and schools were the third most common location for reported hate crimes to occur in the US. The number of hate crimes at schools more than doubled from 500 in 2020 to more than 1,300…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used by police forces around the world, but do the benefits always outweigh the risks? AI has the potential to transform the way the police investigate and solve crimes. It can identify patterns and links in evidence, and sift through vast amounts of data far more quickly than any…

While police departments across Maryland and in Baltimore City are experiencing staffing shortages, there are new efforts to change eligibility requirements to recruit more officers. “There are a lot of Marylanders who are worried about crime in their neighborhood and around the state,” said Maryland Senator Cheryl Kagan. “One of the challenges is that we…

Still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, court systems in many states are working to clear their case backlogs. Some court systems have moved cases faster using virtual court proceedings, court data dashboards and online jury selection. In other states, lawmakers are stepping in. The pandemic worsened problems that already had caused state and local court…

San Diego’s City Council on Tuesday approved substantial changes to the city’s regulation of surveillance technology used by police and other departments, despite vocal opposition from privacy rights advocates. In August of 2022, the City Council passed the Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology (TRUST) Ordinance, which gave departments one year to identify existing…

Ethan Crumbley was 15 when he opened fire at his suburban Detroit high school in November 2021, armed with a semi-automatic handgun that his parents helped purchase as an early Christmas present. The rampage left four students dead and several others injured, shattering the close-knit community of Oxford, Michigan, and resulting last month in a…

The risks are an added burden for a class of gig workers, many of them immigrants, who are often working second jobs as they strain to meet expenses… Full story: As carjackings rise, food delivery drivers navigate harrowing risks

In its report on the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Justice Department officials strongly criticized the local police and issued blunt, unambiguous guidance for the future: Officers must rapidly confront a gunman, even if it costs them their lives. The rebuke reflected the department’s frustration with the failure of police officials in the deadly…