‘It is out of control,’ think tank thinks
Source: Meanwhile, in America: Half of adults’ faces are in police databases • The Register
Category: Police
In the Chicago Police Department, If the Bosses Say It Didn’t Happen, It Didn’t Happen
It’s really sick how some persons of authority can misuse public trust for personal gain, and how many of their colleagues help them hide it
Two young officers began to hear rumors of a drug gang operating within the Chicago Police Department. They were skeptical at first.
Source: In the Chicago Police Department, If the Bosses Say It Didn’t Happen, It Didn’t Happen
After police violence against unarmed black men, 911 crime calls drop | Ars Technica
Communities skip reporting crime out of distrust of law enforcement.
Source: After police violence against unarmed black men, 911 crime calls drop | Ars Technica
Lawmaker Who Pushed Bill to Protect People Filming Police Arrested for Filming Police
Arkansas State Rep. John Walker told the black man whose arrest he was filming: “I’m just making sure they don’t kill you.” Then he was arrested.
Source: Lawmaker Who Pushed Bill to Protect People Filming Police Arrested for Filming Police
Before Forfeiture Is Finalized, Sheriff Racks Up 54k Miles On Seized Vehicle, Sells It To Private Buyer | Techdirt
Documents provided by Outside Legal Counsel show the department seized the Ostipow’s 1965 Chevy Nova SS on April 24, 2008, when the vehicle’s mileage was 73,865. [Sheriff William L.] Federspiel, who signed the vehicle title transfer form, sold the partially restored muscle car over a year later on June 4, 2009, for $1,500.The vehicle’s title certificate filled out by Federspiel around the time it was sold says the mileage was 130,000 — 54,000 miles more than when the department seized the car.
NYPD can’t count cash they’ve seized because it would crash computers | Ars Technica
Despite multimillion dollar evidence system, NYPD have no idea how much cash they seize.
Source: NYPD can’t count cash they’ve seized because it would crash computers | Ars Technica
Albuquerque Police Seize Vehicle From Owner Whose Son Drove It While Drunk; Want $4,000 To Give It Back | Techdirt
According to last year’s lawsuit against the city, Albuquerque forecasts how many vehicles it will not only seize, but sell at auction. The city’s 2016 budget estimates it will have 1,200 vehicle seizure hearings, release 350 vehicles under agreements with the property owners, immobilize 600 vehicles, and to sell 625 vehicles at auction.In fact, the Albuquerque city council approved a $2.5 million bond to build a bigger parking lot for cars seized under the DWI program. The revenue to pay for the bond will come from the DWI program.
“Deadly Heat” in U.S. Prisons Is Killing Inmates and Spawning Lawsuits
IN THE SUMMER months, 84 inmates at the Price Daniel Unit, a medium-security prison four hours west of Dallas, share a 10-gallon cooler of water that’s kept locked in a common area. An inmate there can expect to receive one 8 oz. cup every four hours, according to Benny Hernandez, a man serving a 10-year sentence at the prison. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adults drink about twice that amount under normal conditions and even more in hot climates. According to Hernandez, in the summer the temperature in his prison’s housing areas can reach an astonishing 140 degrees.The prison provides ice for the cooler twice a day, but the ice has long melted before the hottest part of the day, he wrote in a post on Prison Writers, a website where inmates share their experiences behind bars. “Prisoners look upon the summer months in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) with dread and trepidation,” he wrote. “For one is acutely aware that one may not survive another summer. Many do not.”
Source: “Deadly Heat” in U.S. Prisons Is Killing Inmates and Spawning Lawsuits
Nice Officials Say They’ll Sue Internet Users Who Share Photos Of French Fashion Police Fining Women In Burkinis | Techdirt
Over the last few weeks there’s been plenty of controversy over plans on the Côte d’Azur in the south of France to ban burkinis — a kind of full body bathing suit favored by some Muslim women. As the Guardian pointed out recently, the whole thing seems like a “bizarre inversion” of Muslim countries where making sure women are covered is enforced
DEA Accessing Millions Of Travelers’ Records To Find Cash To Seize | Techdirt
The DEA loves taking cash from travelers so much it has hired TSA screeners as informants, asking them to look for cash when scanning luggage. It routinely stops and questions rail passengers in hopes of stumbling across money it can take from them.But it goes further than just hassling random travelers and paying government employees to be government informants. As the USA Today’s article points out, the DEA is datamining traveler info to streamline its forfeiture efforts.
Source: DEA Accessing Millions Of Travelers’ Records To Find Cash To Seize | Techdirt