Public Safety

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
Sponsor Content

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

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

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

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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

People Convicted of Crimes as Young Adults May See a Chance at Early Release in D.C.

A veto-proof majority of the D.C. City Council passed a bill to open early release to people convicted of crimes they committed before they were 25, saying they deserve the chance for rehabilitation. Victims’ advocates are skeptical.

  • By Emma Coleman

New York Lawmakers Demand NYPD Halt Undercover Sex Trade Stings

A dozen city and state officials also called for the disbandment of vice, the primary division that polices the sex trade; some want investigations into misconduct allegations against the unit, including withholding of evidence.

  • By Joshua Kaplan and Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica

An Uncertain Future for a Key Missing Persons Program

Officials point fingers over the fate of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a singular resource.

  • By Michael Schulson , Undark

Death Penalty Used Sparingly by States in 2020 Amid Pandemic

States suspended executions due to the coronavirus outbreak and put just 7 people to death this year. Meanwhile, federal executions resumed for the first time in 17 years.

  • By Andrea Noble

In One State, a Racial Equity Task Force Suggests 100 Ways to Change the Criminal Justice System

North Carolina’s task force released a sweeping report calling for changes in policing and the courts.

  • By Emma Coleman