Public Safety

Despite Insurrection, There May be More Guns in the Texas Capitol This Session

The violent storming of the U.S. Capitol prompted some states to reconsider allowing firearms in their statehouses. Not Texas.

  • By Sami Sparber, The Texas Tribune

State Capitols Reckon With Racism in Policing

This anti-racist movement has seeped into state capitols and promises to bring changes to housing, health care access and policing policy in the first full legislative session since widespread protests last year.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

'Systemic Buy-In:' How New Jersey Approaches Police Reform

In New Jersey, comprehensive police reform began by listening to community members, law enforcement agencies and civil rights organizations, Gurbir S. Grewal, the state's attorney general, said during a Route Fifty event.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

U.S. Could Face a Simmering, Chronic Domestic Terror Problem, Warn Security Experts

COMMENTARY | The U.S. currently has elements that can lead to low-intensity domestic terrorism.

  • By Luis De la Calle, The Conversation

“Sense of Entitlement”: Rioters Faced Few Consequences Invading State Capitols. No Wonder They Turned to the U.S. Capitol Next.

Armed far-right mobs met little law enforcement resistance when they repeatedly attacked state capitols. You can draw a direct line from that kind of impunity to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.

  • By Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica
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New Tools Help State and Local Governments Battle Ransomware, Other Big Disasters

When governments find themselves being ransomed, their choices are typically to pay, which will undercut their ability to deliver key services to their communities due to budget restrictions, or not pay, resulting in the immediate inability to serve their communities and the loss of key data that will inevitably plague them for years afterwards.

  • Presented by Veeam

The Best and Worst States for Driving

You can experience the joy of the open road in Texas. Not so much in Hawaii.

  • By Tom Shoop

America’s Second-Worst Scenario

COMMENTARY | So far, cumulative acts of civic virtue have saved the republic. But the constitutional order is still in danger.

  • By Barton Gellman, The Atlantic

Two Virginia Police Officers Charged in U.S. Capitol Riot

At least a dozen law enforcement agencies are investigating their officers' possible involvement in the episode. The arrest of two Rocky Mount officers marks the first federal charges related to the riot filed against law enforcement officers.

  • By Andrea Noble

Capitol Siege Raises Questions Over Extent of White Supremacist Infiltration of U.S. Police

COMMENTARY | Reports of officers involved in an attack in which the symbols and language of white supremacy were clearly on display are concerning.

  • By Vida Johnson, The Conversation

Airbnb Cancels Rentals in Washington, D.C. Region for Inauguration Week

The company’s decision to cancel and block lodging rentals comes after leaders from the District, Maryland and Virginia urged people to stay away.

  • By Andrea Noble

Michigan Commission Bans Firearm Open Carry Inside State Capitol

The decision comes in the wake of the siege of the U.S. Capitol and as statehouses across the country are on heightened alert for security threats.

  • By Andrea Noble

Many State Capitols Have Security Holes

“We're deeply concerned for what's likely to come in the coming months in state capitols."

  • By Elaine S. Povich and Alex Brown, Stateline
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Local Police Departments Investigate Whether Their Officers Took Part in Capitol Riot

Police officers, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters attended the pro-Trump rally held before the riot began. Many are now on administrative leave while agencies probe their actions.

  • By Andrea Noble

After Mob Attack on U.S. Capitol, State Governments Take Precautions

Washington's governor announced plans for a heavy law enforcement presence at the state Capitol next week. Other states have taken extra security measures as well.

  • By Andrea Noble

Domestic Terrorism: A More Urgent Threat, but Weaker Laws

Federal authorities have had more success combating international terrorists than those with a domestic focus, reflecting legal limits on investigations of American political groups.

  • By Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica

Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.

Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed.

  • By Isaac Arnsdorf, J. David McSwane, Logan Jaffe and Lydia DePillis, ProPublica

D.C. Orders 6 p.m. Curfew to Restore Order After Chaos at U.S. Capitol

By evening the Capitol building was secure, after a pro-Trump mob broke in earlier in the day.

  • By Andrea Noble

Magistrate Judges Took Bribes, Stole Money and Mishandled Cases. South Carolina Officials Now Want Reform.

South Carolina lawmakers are eyeing reforms to strengthen oversight of magistrate judges after ProPublica and The Post and Courier found some had been appointed and reappointed despite ethical and professional lapses.

  • By Joseph Cranney, ProPublica

Alaska Requires DNA Be Collected From People Arrested for Violent Crimes. Many Police Have Ignored That.

By failing to collect DNA samples when they arrest people as the law requires, Alaskan law enforcement left the state’s DNA database with crucial gaps, allowing at least one serial rapist to go undetected.

  • By Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica

How Police Can Better Navigate Cultural Differences

COMMENTARY | Tactical communications training can enhance safety and increase officer efficiency as local governments face shrinking budgets and calls to change how police operate.

  • By Steven P. Dinkin

Would Judges Sentence Fewer People to Prison if Local Governments Had to Pay for Their Prison Stays?

In a case where counties had to bear the cost of incarceration, local prosecutors and judges dismissed more cases. For one researcher, this raised a key question: If local governments had to pay for prison sentences, would incarceration rates decrease?

  • By Emma Coleman