Seattle police intervening in fewer mental health calls, data show

David Kroman

September 13, 2021 |

Crosscut |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Washington state legislators imposed new restrictions on the use of force by police, including strict limits on physically restraining someone who is not suspected of committing a crime. At a time when non-police responders to mental health crises are not yet fully staffed, the use-of-force reforms have had the unintended consequence in Seattle of denying some people in mental health crises the emergency care they need. Police believe they are not allowed to restrain someone in order to involuntarily commit them to a mental hospital. Involuntary commitments have dropped by almost half.

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Lake Mary police partnership keeps mentally ill out of ERs, away from police confrontations

Erik von Ancken

September 08, 2021 |

WKMG-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Lake Mary, Florida

The Mental Health Intervention Group is a partnership of hospitals and community social services agencies formed by the Lake Mary Police Department to address mental health problems before they turn into crises. Avoiding crises minimizes the chances of violent encounters with police or repeat visits to hospital emergency rooms. Volunteers and their organizations learn from police or hospitals who needs help, and then they provide whatever is needed, from counseling to food assistance. Nearly all those they've helped have avoided hospital visits afterward.

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#EndSARS: Impact Of Judicial Panels In Facilitating Justice For Victims Of Police Brutalities

Kehinde Ogunyale

September 04, 2021 |

HumAngle |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Protests against alleged brutality and extrajudicial killings by Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led to demands for judicial panels of inquiry to investigate the abuses and provide justice to victims. Of Nigeria's 36 states, 29 set up panels of inquiry, and seven of those submitted reports and recommendations. Some victims have been compensated for illegal arrests and beatings. While critics say these measures don't go far enough, they concede the reports and payments have provided at least some accountability.

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How calls to ‘defund the police' took Austin to a crossroads of police reform

Tony Plohetski

August 31, 2021 |

Austin American-Statesman |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

The 2020 protests over abusive policing nationwide led to Austin city leaders' decision to be the first major city to make major cuts in their police budget. These early and rapid "defund-the-police" measures, cutting hiring of new police and moving $150 million to other agencies, led to a political backlash that has further polarized the local debate over policing. The police budget was restored and is now at its highest ever with some residents complaining that they need better protection. Now the city is rethinking, more deliberately, where to go from here.

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Dealing with mental health crisis one Zoom call at a time

Don Babwin

August 29, 2021 |

Associated Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, where the city's size and traffic would pose logistical and cost barriers to make mental health professionals first responders to mental-crisis calls, the Cook County sheriff's office has put 70 Zoom-enabled tablets in deputies' hands to set up on-the-spot counseling sessions with people in crisis. Instead of being confronted by a cop, people threatening suicide or harming others can talk to one of eight counselors on call. It's the first step toward getting the care they need, instead of an arrest and violent clash with police officers.

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Undocumented crime victims who assist police are often denied help in getting visa

Yilun Cheng

August 23, 2021 |

The Columbus Dispatch |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Whitehall, Ohio

Congress created the U visa program in 2000 to encourage undocumented immigrants to report crimes to the police and cooperate with investigations and prosecutions. The visa legalizes an immigrant's status, if certified by a law enforcement agency and approved by the federal government. Some police departments, like Whitehall, Ohio's, routinely reject requests for certification because they want to avoid entanglements in immigration matters, or simply because they are anti-immigrant. No national rules require agencies to comply with the system, though some states do.

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Solutions and Struggle: Native American tribes receive federal COVID-19 relief |

Mackenzie Wilkes Nancy Marie Spears Beth Wallis

August 15, 2021 |

News21 |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Blackfeet Nation, United States, Montana

During the pandemic, indigenous communities received massive federal funding through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, and the Relief and Economic Security Act for a number of needs, like infrastructure and tribal housing improvements. Many indigenous entities received smaller funds too. But COVID exacerbated several long-pending and neglected issues, local officials and tribal members say, and the funding does not sufficiently address them in the longterm.

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Alaska failed to obtain DNA samples from 21,000 people accused of crimes, contrary to state law

Kyle Hopkins

August 11, 2021 |

Anchorage Daily News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Alaska put itself at the cutting edge of rape investigations in 2007 by passing a law requiring the collection of DNA samples from people arrested for a variety of crimes. The system is meant to aid in solving rapes, homicides and other crimes, and prevent serial offenses. But the state now admits that 1 in 4 qualifying cases never have a DNA sample collected, often because police either didn't know or didn't care about the requirement. Investigators are trying to collect samples from more than 20,000 old cases while improving procedures going forward.

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Marsy's Law was supposed to help victims. In Jacksonville, it shields police officers.

Uriel J. García

August 03, 2021 |

The Tributary (Jacksonville Journalism Collective) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jacksonville, Florida

A Florida constitutional amendment enacted in 2018 called Marsy's Law protects crime victims' rights, including the right to privacy when public-records laws would otherwise reveal victims' identity. But the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has interpreted a court decision to justify erasing from public records the names of police officers who shot or killed people, on the grounds that the police should legally be considered crime victims. Marsy's Law has been enacted in 14 states. Critics say it was not meant to undermine police accountability, but they have been unable to enact corrective legislation.

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Federal monitors cost millions, with disputed results. Seattle's police watchdog was a case in point.

David Nakamura

August 02, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Federal consent decrees install court-appointed monitors to oversee reforms agreed to by a police department and the U.S. Justice Department after federal officials have found a department violates people's civil rights. In Seattle, a long-running monitor program oversaw great improvement in the police department's use of force. But the project turned so acrimonious that the monitor called the department a failure and the department said the monitor lacked accountability and a sensible yardstick to measure success. The Biden administration has revived the program nationwide but is studying ways to fix it.

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