Law Enforcement

Customers Won't Wear a Mask? One State Says to Call the Police.

Updated guidance from the New Hampshire Attorney General's office instructs businesses to call local law enforcement for assistance if customers simply refuse to comply with a statewide mask mandate.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

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

State Capitols on 'High Alert' Amid Talk of Armed Protests

Governors in multiple states were beefing up security at statehouses in preparation for rumored protests through the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

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

Lawmakers from Multiple States Involved in Capitol Chaos, or Related Activities

Republican state lawmakers from across the country traveled to D.C. on Wednesday. At least one joined the siege of the U.S. Capitol Building.

  • By Emma Coleman

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 Riot Response Could Have Differed if D.C. was a State

With Democrats assuming control of the Senate, Washington, D.C. could have a better shot at statehood. The District’s mayor wants to see urgent action on the issue.

  • By Andrea Noble

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

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

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Timing of Covid-19 Vaccine for Health Care Workers Depends on Where They Live

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Kansas and Missouri plan to rely on the honor system to comply with priority distribution of coronavirus vaccines ... Employees in one Louisiana city will receive a one-time lump-sum hazard payment ... Indiana lawmakers hope to shield businesses from Covid-19 lawsuits.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

One State is Reforming Its Sex Offender Registry. Criminal Justice Advocates Aren’t Happy.

Michigan legislators passed legislation to revamp the sex offender registry, which courts have concluded is unconstitutional. Advocates say the new policies miss the mark.

  • By Emma Coleman

The Covid Detection Method That's Been Right Under Our Noses—Literally

Four dogs in Hawaii are training to detect Covid-19 by scent, part of a large international research study to determine whether it's possible—and how it might be used.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

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

Nation Sees Troubling Rise in Fatal Cocaine Overdoses

Many of the deaths involve cocaine mixed with the opioid fentanyl, a new analysis finds. Data shows that 2019 may have been a record year for deadly overdoses.

  • By Bill Lucia

State and Local Republican Officials Shy Away From Trump's Efforts to Overturn Election Results

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Illinois House speaker’s power slipping amid federal probe … Milwaukee health workers face death threats … Florida sheriff’s office keeping list of kids seen at risk of “life of crime” … state-local spat over charity venison.

  • By Bill Lucia and Emma Coleman

One City Council Tried to Dissuade Protesters from Targeting the Governor's Private Home. (It Didn't Work.)

The city council in Orem, Utah, convened an emergency meeting to pass an ordinance restricting protests that target public officials' private homes. Two days later, protesters were back at Gov. Gary Herbert's house.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Looking to Replace Police with Crisis Response Teams? Consider These Lessons Learned from the Military.

COMMENTARY | Many cities are exploring how to cut police funding and replace some law enforcement officers with teams of social workers and other specialists. The shortcomings of teams of social scientists deployed by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan can provide some valuable insights into the kind of mistakes to avoid.

  • By John Borek