Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How Michigan police agencies are training to respond to 911 calls with autistic people

    The Northville Township Police Department and Michigan State Police (MSP) are adapting new autism awareness techniques by participating in the Action For Autism program. The program helps officers better understand people with autism to interact with them without making quick judgments that can result in violence. Officers who go through the training have begun gathering profiles of members of the area’s autistic community to be used in 911 calls and have begun carrying calming bags in their patrol cars. The MSP alone has trained about 1,500 MSP troopers and department personnel.

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  • As Canadian police grapple with hate crimes, a wave of reforms are improving how some handle incidents

    Canadian police departments are introducing reforms to better handle hate crimes. Victims are offered support services and are kept informed about the ongoing police investigation.

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  • From scandal to scrutiny: How intense citizen oversight reshaped Oakland police

    Since 2016, complaints filed against Oakland police officers have triggered parallel investigations by both the department's internal affairs unit and the city's Civilian Police Review Agency. When an outcome is disputed, the final decision is made by the Civilian Police Commission, a system that has resulted in the city sustaining complaints against officers at a rate more than double the state average between 2018 and 2020.

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  • Vermont State Police try sending mental health workers out with troopers. Is it working?

    The Vermont Department of Public Safety hired embedded mental health crisis workers to respond to mental health-related calls alongside state troopers, with the goal of de-escalating tensions that can lead to unnecessary arrests and use of force. While data is still being collected, service providers say the program has helped connect their clients to needed treatment and support.

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  • Is Brazilian jiujitsu making policing safer for everyone?

    The St. Paul Police Department is one of a growing number of such departments which have integrated training in Brazilian jiujitsu for officers as a way to reduce not just civilian injuries but also the amount of money spent on lawsuit settlements as a result of police misconduct.

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  • Utah bucked alcohol industry with its tougher DUI law. A new study shows it made roads safer.

    In an attempt to reduce fatal car crashes, Utah lowered the legal blood alcohol content limit to .05% and saw a dramatic decrease in fatal crashes. The state’s fatal crash rate dropped 19.8% from 2016 to 2019 and in 2019 deaths on the road fell to 248, compared to 281 in 2016.

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  • Zero Tolerance to FGM in Okpala Umukwune

    A community in Nigeria educated residents about the dangers of female genital mutation and implemented a fine to stop the practice.

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  • Black students fought to defund school police in LA and hire mental health counselors instead

    After a period of backpack searches and police pepper-spraying students, Students Deserve, a youth-led activist group, pushed for the Los Angeles Unified School District to withdraw all funding for school police and divert it to mental health support for Black students. The school board approved a plan to cut one third of the school police budget, roughly around $25 million, and instead use it to fund “221 psychiatric social workers, counselors, “climate coaches,” and restorative justice advisers to schools with the highest number of Black students.”

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  • How a Newark Program Is Pushing Police and Community Members to Heal Old Wounds Together

    To address deep divisions and mistrust between the community and police, Newark launched Trauma to Trust, a conflict resolution program that brings officers and residents together for mediation and discussion. Participants receive two days of training around trauma, critical race theory, and implicit bias, and more than 500 people have taken part since the initiative began.

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  • Santa Fe's once-vaunted diversion program for people with addictions has dwindled to nearly nothing

    One of the nation's first programs using police officers to get people into drug treatment instead of jail succeeded at first, and inspired other programs throughout New Mexico. But the original Santa Fe program now serves as a lesson in what can all but kill such a program, thanks to a leadership vacuum and mistakes that undercut the cultural change needed within a police department. Like the first program of its kind, in Seattle, Santa Fe's LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) program takes aim at people whose drug abuse deeply entangles them in the justice system when what they need is treatment.

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