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Burlington, Vt., ‘defunded' its police force. Here's what followed.

Emily R. Siegel Hannah Rappleye Stephanie Gosk

December 19, 2021 |

NBC News |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Burlington, Vermont

In Burlington, a city of progressive politics with a police department long seen as forward-looking, city leaders' decision in June 2020 to respond to social-justice protests by cutting the police force by 30% has backfired in a number of ways. By moving quickly without an analysis of optimal staffing or how to shift duties to other agencies, the "defund police" measure prompted more police resignations than expected. Residents complain about conditions on downtown streets that make them feel unsafe. The city has since restored some of the police positions while moving more deliberately toward alternatives.

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How role-playing helps police do their job without firing their guns

Caren Chesler

December 12, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Training courses based on role-playing that supplement classroom teaching have helped some police departments reduce incidents of unnecessary use of lethal force. In response to protests over police shootings, more departments are using a variety of courses that train officers to seek alternatives to shooting when they perceive a threat. The most expensive and intensive course uses live actors. Others use video and virtual reality headsets. The key to effectiveness is the realism of a training that lets officers repeatedly act out the lessons so that they become second nature.

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How K9s are helping law enforcement track child predators

Katie Ellington

December 09, 2021 |

Richland Source |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Specially trained dogs help law enforcement catch child sexual abuse predators. The dogs can sniff out electronic storage devices like cell phones, USB drives and SD cards, where child sexual abuse material is often stored. The dogs use their keen sense of smell to find devices, which they indicate by pawing at it or putting their nose up against the object. The dogs also provide emotional comfort to the victims, and their trainers, as well as serve as good public relations messengers raising awareness about child sexual exploitation.

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'It seemed like our lives didn't matter'

Margaret Coker

November 30, 2021 |

The Current (Georgia) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Glynn County, Georgia

The murder of Ahmaud Arbery sparked nationwide rage, but the people most affected by local racism felt it most keenly. A Better Glynn formed to seek reforms in Glynn County law enforcement after years of status-quo racism and resistance to change. The group worked with an existing group of Black pastors and other leaders and found success in the firing of the police chief, his replacement by the county's first Black chief, the district attorney's reelection defeat, and the beginnings of police reforms.

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St. Paul police credit jiu-jitsu training for reducing injuries — and excessive force settlements

Mara H. Gottfried

November 28, 2021 |

Twin Cities Pioneer Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

When St. Paul police studied controversial cases in which officers used physical force, they found troubling examples that were products of the training given to officers. So they began training new and veteran officers to use tactics inspired by the Brazilian martial art jiu-jitsu, which prizes teamwork by two officers to use leverage to restrain resistant people rather than using brute force, weapons, or chemicals. In the six years after the training began, St. Paul officers used force far less often, injured far fewer people, and cost the city much less money in settlements payments.

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Police Have a Tool to Take Guns From Potential Shooters, but Many Aren't Using It

Zusha Elinson Dan Frosch

November 15, 2021 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have added red-flag laws in recent years. Also called extreme risk protection orders, or temporary risk protection orders, the laws give police and the public a way to seek a court order to confiscate the guns of a person deemed dangerous. San Diego County used available grant money from California to train police and prosecutors, and it now has used its state law more than any other county there. But many places in the U.S. use their laws rarely if ever, thanks to lack of interest or training among police and lack of awareness in the public.

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Why Albuquerque's latest experiment in policing doesn't involve officers

Henry Gass

November 12, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque established a new city department, Albuquerque Community Safety, that handles some of the 200,000 calls to 911 every year for a range of low-level, non-violent problems that don't require a police response. Since its launch in August 2021, the department has fielded just two teams of behavioral health specialists on call during the day. The city plans to expand the team's hours and responsibilities, though some are uneasy about exposing the unarmed workers to the potential for violence. The city has a long history of police shootings of mentally ill people, and ACS is meant to curb that threat.

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Creating a safer 6th Street: How another U.S. city transformed its entertainment district

Kevin Clark

November 11, 2021 |

KXAN-TV |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Arlington, Virginia

Arlington police and its entertainment-district bars and restaurants addressed rising violence and other crime by collaborating to prevent crime rather than banking on police alone to solve it through more arrests. Where bar and restaurant owners in the past feared getting in trouble if they told police about incidents at their venues, the Arlington Restaurant Initiative opened communication and training of employees. Crime in the district declined by two-thirds in the first four years. Austin faces similar challenges and could learn from Arlington's example.

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In Portsmouth police reforms, some see 'model' for other communities

Paul Cuno-Booth

November 02, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Residents, community leaders, and the Police Commission came together to instate police reforms. Data will now be collected from every police stop of a civilian to provide a better understanding of who is being stopped and how that effects the entire criminal justice system.

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Taking Mental Health Crises Out of Police Hands

Jenee Darden

November 01, 2021 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Until Oakland joins the list of cities sending counselors and social workers on emergency calls concerning mental health crises, a grassroots program called Mental Health First is diverting a small number of emergencies from police involvement to a community-based response. Hundreds of volunteers, many with their own experiences with mental illness and crises, answer dozens of calls per month in which they de-escalate, counsel, and direct people to needed services – all without the threat that a misunderstood person could be harmed by police untrained in correctly handling such crises.

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