law enforcement

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No More Grenade Launchers, Bayonets for Local Police

Obama puts new rules on military equipment transferred to local departments

(Newser) - If a police department wants to outfit itself with military equipment, it will now have to make a very strong case for why it needs to. After an uproar over a program that allowed law enforcement to get surplus military gear—including armored vehicles, grenade launchers, bayonets, and camouflage uniforms—...

Holder Reins In Police Seizure of Cash, Property

Critics say old policy had been severely abused

(Newser) - In what's seen as a major check on police abuses, Eric Holder today gutted a program that allowed state and local law enforcement to seize citizens' cash and property even when there was no evidence of a crime, reports the Guardian . The attorney general effectively ended the Equitable Sharing...

Hackers Used Police Tool to Steal Celeb Photos

'Wired' reports on software that's easy to obtain

(Newser) - Hackers who stole nude photos of female celebs used software intended for police and spies to parse data from iPhones, reports Wired . "What this demonstrates is that even without explicit backdoors, law enforcement has powerful tools that might not always stay in law enforcement," a forensic tech expert...

Ferguson&#39;s New Plan: Police Cameras
Ferguson's New Plan:
Police Cameras
Aug 20, 2014 7:36 AM CDT

Ferguson's New Plan: Police Cameras

City calmer ahead of Holder visit

(Newser) - Ahead of a visit from Attorney General Eric Holder today, officials in Ferguson, Missouri, say they want to make big changes to law enforcement and end the "discord and heartbreak" that has followed the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. A statement released by city leaders says it...

LAPD Seat Belt Crackdown Targets ... LAPD

Half of cops in America don't buckle up

(Newser) - The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a new "buckle up" campaign—for the LAPD. Studies show that around half of police officers in America don't wear seat belts and though seat belt laws generally exclude law enforcement officers, traffic-related deaths are the leading cause of death of...

Ohio Secretly Using Facial Recognition Technology

...which your state probably uses, too

(Newser) - Ohio has been using new facial-recognition technology to aid in law enforcement for nearly three months—without mentioning it to residents, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. State Attorney General Mike DeWine says he didn't believe a public announcement was necessary, given that 26 states already use similar systems, he tells...

Why Cops Can (and Do) Take People&#39;s Stuff
 Why Cops Can 
 (and Do) Take 
 People's Stuff 
in case you missed it
Aug 10, 2013 12:25 PM CDT

Why Cops Can (and Do) Take People's Stuff

'Civil forfeiture' fills law enforcement coffers every year

(Newser) - A drive through Tenaha, Texas, can cost you thousands of dollars—because police in this sleepy town are known for pulling over out-of-state cars and confiscating anything they want. Highway robbery? Maybe, but it's called "civil forfeiture," a legal practice that allows police to take money or...

With 100K Ankle Bracelets, Alarms Often Unheard
 With 100K Ankle Bracelets, 
 Alarms Often Unheard 
INVESTIGATION
Jul 29, 2013 7:05 AM CDT

With 100K Ankle Bracelets, Alarms Often Unheard

GPS devices on offenders give 'false sense of security'

(Newser) - Ankle bracelets that let authorities track parolees and sex offenders released into the community are now being worn by more than 100,000 Americans, but what happens when the alarm sounds? All too often, the answer is nothing, an AP investigation finds. The devices are generating vast numbers of alerts—...

For Cops, DNA Databases Are the New Fingerprints

Departments around the country keeping profiles

(Newser) - Across the country, local cops are quietly building DNA databases in much the same way they might build a fingerprint catalog, the New York Times reports. New York City has the genetic info of some 11,000 suspects on file, and Orange County, Calif., makes even that trove look tiny,...

Judge: Tax Hike Needed to Fight UN in US Revolution

Texan warns of 'civil war' if Obama is reelected

(Newser) - The freedom-loving people of Lubbock County, Texas, could be crushed under the heel of the United Nations if they don't approve a 1.7-cent rise in the tax rate, warns a local official. Judge Tom Head told a local radio station that the extra funds are needed to prepare...

LA Sheriff Tells Pols to Turn in Their Badges

Move has nothing to do with nightclub photo, says his office

(Newser) - LA County Sheriff Lee Baca has told politicians in dozens of towns to turn in their badges. The badges, which look like those issued to deputies but read "City Official Los Angeles County" instead of "deputy sheriff," came under scrutiny after three small-town officials were busted on...

Cell Phone Surveillance Surges
 Cell Phone Surveillance Surges 
Jul 9, 2012 4:00 AM CDT

Cell Phone Surveillance Surges

Carriers got more than 1.3M demands for info last year

(Newser) - Cell phone surveillance has exploded over the last five years, and carriers received more than 1.3 million demands for information from law enforcement last year, a Congressional report reveals. The carriers are dealing with thousands of requests a day from all levels of law enforcement, but some legally questionable...

More Officers Shot to Death Than Killed in Car Accidents

2011 marks a disturbing first for police departments

(Newser) - The New York Times takes a look at the rising number of police officers getting shot, according to FBI stats. A few of the details:
  • Spike in 2011: 72 officers were fatally shot last year, up 25% from 2010 and 75% from 2008.
  • Bad milestone: That marks the first time
...

New Threat to Cops: &#39;Sovereign Citizens&#39;


 New Threat to Cops: 
 'Sovereign Citizens' 
FBI warns
Feb 7, 2012 8:32 AM CST

New Threat to Cops: 'Sovereign Citizens'

FBI warns that anti-government crusaders can easily turn violent

(Newser) - Anti-government crusaders have apparently become dangerous enough that the FBI issued an official warning about them yesterday. These extremists sometimes call themselves "sovereign citizens," and they may refuse to pay taxes, defy government regulations, or argue fervently for a return to the gold standard . They also pose a...

Police Line-of-Duty Deaths Up 13%

173 federal, state, local officers killed this year

(Newser) - Law enforcement deaths in the line of duty rose 13% this year to 173—the second sharp rise since 2009's 50-year-low, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Gunfire claimed the lives of 68 officers, making this the first year since 1997 in which more law enforcement...

Cops Fired for Opposing War on Drugs

New York Times examines case of border patrol agent

(Newser) - Bryan Gonzalez was working as a Border Patrol agent in New Mexico when he made the fatal mistake of musing to a colleague that legalizing marijuana would end Mexico’s violent drug war. He was fired soon afterwards; his termination letter said he held “personal views that were contrary...

Deportation Program May Raise Crime: Report

Federal panel says fingerprint-sharing system often backfires

(Newser) - A federal panel reviewing a contentious US deportation program found that it hurt community policing, potentially leading to “greater levels of crime.” The stated goal of the Secure Communities program, which provides immigration officials with police-obtained fingerprints, was to deport serious criminals. But the program has cracked down...

US Will Review Rash of Police Deaths

Ten officers have been killed already in January

(Newser) - Here's a disturbing trend: The number of US police officers killed in the line of duty increased by 40% in 2010, including a 20% increase in those shot to death. And the trend shows no sign of slowing—10 officers have already been killed nationwide in 2011, including the pair...

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone
Miami Police
Buy Spy Drone
Jan 7, 2011 11:15 AM CST

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone

Some residents have privacy concerns

(Newser) - Soon, America’s fearsome spy drones will prowl the sky in Kandahar, Waziristan, and … South Beach? The Miami-Dade Police Department has struck a deal to buy a drone, WSN-TV reports. Many residents aren’t particularly happy about this, but police are eager to have “an eye up there,...

US Agencies Link Up to Spy on ... You
US Agencies Link Up
to Spy on ... You
INVESTIGATION
Dec 20, 2010 3:31 PM CST

US Agencies Link Up to Spy on ... You

Thousands deemed 'suspicious' appear on giant database: WaPo probe

(Newser) - Aiming to fight home-grown terrorism, the US is linking local, state, FBI, and military resources to gather information about American citizens: It’s “the largest and most technologically sophisticated” domestic intelligence system the country has ever assembled, write Dana Priest and William Arkin after a Washington Post investigation that’...

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