Emily Riley
The Crime Report
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Past articles by Emily:
What’s Wrong with Forensic Science? Everything, Says Paper
In the latest challenge to a field that critics call “junk dressed up as scientific analysis,” a Maryland law professor says the widespread misuse of forensic evidence deepens racial bias in the justice system. In a forthcoming paper, she calls for developing a new approach less weighted towards prosecution. → Read More
Race, Disability and Criminal Justice
Efforts to tackle systemic racism in the administration of justice need to include a focus on the rights of the disabled community, writes a University of Pennsylvania law professor. → Read More
America's Data 'Still at Risk' From Cyber Saboteurs: Senate
A Senate report Tuesday lambasting the continued “failure” to shore up U.S. vulnerabilities to cyberattacks lends added weight to President Joe Biden’s recent warning that the shadow conflict in cyberspace could morph into a shooting war. → Read More
Policing Protests Spurred Reforms in 23 States: Report
Policy changes in law enforcement made since May 2020 are a sign that police accountability is now high on the agenda since the George Floyd protests, reports Stateline. → Read More
Low Clearance Rate for Gun Crimes Fuels 'Retaliatory Violence': Paper
A “focused investigation strategy” along with evidence-based reform measures could help increase clearance rates for fatal and nonfatal shootings in cities stuck in a cycle of gun violence, said a report released by the Manhattan Institute Tuesday. → Read More
Compassionate Release and the Pandemic: A Policy Failure?
The reluctance to release vulnerable incarcerees during the pandemic is further evidence of how compassionate release policies are distorted by “tough-on-crime” perspectives, according to a forthcoming paper by a former deputy prosecutor who is now a law professor at Southern Illinois University. → Read More
Hate Crimes in California ‘Highest in Decade’: Report
Reported hate crimes against Black Californians rose 87.7 percent from 2019 to 2020 and anti-Asian bias incidents increased by 107 percent, according to the California Department of Justice. → Read More
Internet Blamed for Increase in Child Porn
The advancement of technology has facilitated the distribution and possession of massive quantities of child pornography, over half of which includes content of infants and toddlers, says the United States Sentencing Commission. → Read More
212,000 Business Owners Barred From COVID Aid Because of Criminal Record
The restrictions on who could benefit from the Paycheck Payment Protection were relaxed slightly by the Joe Biden administration. A RAND study found that over a quarter of those affected were African American. → Read More
Disenfranchising Voters a Bigger Concern than Election Fraud: Poll
A majority of respondents in a telephone poll conducted by Monmouth University Polling Institute support efforts to widen access to voting, but party lines continue to influence beliefs that the last election was marred by fraud. The results came as the Senate prepared to vote Tuesday on a proposed voting rights act. → Read More
‘Sense of Urgency’ in Decarceration Lost as Nation Emerges From Pandemic
After significant declines in jail and prison populations during COVID, the trend appears to have stalled, reports the Vera Institute of Justice. “This pattern speaks to the political, economic, and social entrenchment of mass incarceration,” Vera researchers warned. → Read More
Most U.S. Prosecutors 'Routinely' Support Harsh Punishments: Study
A 50-state study examining the role of prosecutors in the political process found that they were twice as likely to throw their support behind bills that instituted harsher penalties than behind reform measures. Yet when DAs did lobby for reform measures, they were more likely to pass. → Read More
Police and the ‘Venus Flytrap’ of Tech Monopolies
Just a few private companies license the police surveillance technology now in widespread use around the country, ranging from body cameras to license plate readers. That represents a growing threat to transparency, privacy and accountability, warn two UC Davis law professors. → Read More
California Reforms a Model for Overhauling Youth Justice: Paper
Legislation enacted last October mandating the closure of all juvenile detention facilities in the state represents a landmark moment, but it’s only a first step in transforming a culture that places a greater value on “custody and control” than on rehabilitation and counselling, according to a forthcoming paper in the Lewis & Clark Law Review. → Read More
A Public Health Proposal For Modern Policing
Aligning some of the functions of public safety and public health can improve the way policing operates in the U.S., and absolve the “iatrogenic” harms caused by the criminal justice system, according to research fellows from the Health in Justice Action Lab. → Read More
COVID-19 Fraud Task Force Targets $63B in Stolen Federal Funds
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the task force “will use every available federal tool—including criminal, civil, and administrative actions” to go after those who siphon off pandemic relief funds and exploit individuals who received government aid. → Read More
Millennials’ Crime Rates Lower Than Boomer Generation: Study
The findings in a University of Texas-Austin study suggest the need for changes in the approach to youth justice, according to researchers. “It’s time we shifted focus from stopping bad guys to helping kids be good guys,” said the study author. → Read More
FCC Needs More “Courage” in Curbing Prison Phone Costs: Advocates
A Federal Communication Commission order to cap phone rates for incarcerees is only a start towards curbing the power of telecommunications companies operating in prisons, say leaders of the “Phone Justice” campaign. Meanwhile the announcement of a free video-calling platform may provide an alternative. → Read More
Eliminate Police Role in Traffic Stops: Report
Traffic stops are “the most dangerous” interaction between civilians and police, disproportionally affect people of color, and often “have little to do with public safety,” says the Urban Institute. → Read More
Glaring Racial Disparities Persist in NYC Jails: Study
New York City has one of the lowest jail incarceration rates in the nation, but it still houses disproportionate numbers of people of color. Black and Latinx people make up 90 percent of jail admissions, although they comprise just 52 percent of the city’s population, says a new report by the Columbia Justice Lab. → Read More