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The push to remake policing takes decades, only to begin again

John Sullivan Robert Klemko

June 10, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

Three "historic firsts in policing reforms" show how attempts to root out systemic problems in policing can fail. In all three cases – federal intervention to curb civil rights abuses in Pittsburgh, a computerized early-warning system to spot abusive Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, and rules put in place to reduce racial profiling in New Jersey traffic stops – bureaucratic and leadership failures, plus cultural resistance to change in police ranks, undermined early successes or good intentions. In all three cases, the problems persist decades later.

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Mobile crisis response program draws national attention but still struggles with funding

Dave Miller Allison Frost

June 02, 2021 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Radio Talk Show |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

The CAHOOTS program's national popularity as a model for diverting crisis calls from the police to unarmed teams of a medic and counselor belies its inability to fully serve its own community because of under-funding. Program director Ebony Morgan talks about the flip side of the program's cost savings for the city: unfairly low pay for its workers, long response times, and an inability to expand. The program's success with the community is built on trust that people in crisis will be helped rather than viewed as a threat. Morgan says the program itself needs to be valued more by city budget managers.

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The 40-Year-Old System: How an upgrade could help the VEC solve payment problems

Caroline Coleburn

June 01, 2021 |

WTVR-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, South Carolina

If Virginia taxpayers who lost their jobs in the pandemic want to understand why their unemployment insurance payments lagged for months and why they couldn't get the Virginia Employment Commission on the phone, they could look to South Carolina. In 2017 that state took advantage of a grant to upgrade its computer systems. It was able to process payments much more quickly, needed many fewer call-center staff, and could help South Carolinians take advantage of enhanced pandemic benefits much sooner. Virginia has struggled to upgrade is decades-old systems, which were overwhelmed with calls and claims.

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Both lost jobs. She got paid. He waits. Where they live may be the reason why.

Shannon Lilly

June 01, 2021 |

WTVR-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, South Carolina

Four years before the pandemic caused unemployment compensation claims to spike, South Carolina took advantage of a federal grant to modernize its claims processing systems. That upgrade saved thousands of hours of time once claims rose sharply, which meant that people making legitimate claims got paid relatively quickly. That stands in contrast with the Virginia Employment Commission's huge backlog, which must be run through a decades-old system. The state was finally upgrading its systems when the pandemic put that work on hold, leaving some laid-off people in financial limbo for several months.

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St. Louis technology detects lots of gunfire, but calls often lead to a dead end

Erin Heffernan

May 31, 2021 |

St. Louis Post-Dispatch |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis was one of the first cities to adopt ShotSpotter technology, which uses a network of microphones, software, and human monitors to detect and analyze gunshot sounds. The detection system summoned police more than 15,000 times last year. Only 1% of those calls in a 10-year span yielded enough evidence to result in a police report, and only 13 arrests resulted. There is no evidence that the system actually reduced gun violence. Advocates say the system, which costs St. Louis taxpayers and a nonprofit group more than $1 million per year, yields other useful intelligence and should be maintained.

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How Vancouver is protecting itself from future flooding — with plants

Stefan Labbé

May 27, 2021 |

Pique Newsmagazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

Large cities like Vacounver and Seattle are increasingly leaning towards "green infrastracture," a method of managing stormwater through natural systems like green roofs and rain gardens that absorb rainwater. Cities have traditionally relied on traditional sewage systems, but in the face of climate change, and more intense storms, its proving to be inadequate. Green infrascture lowers flood levels, filters out pollutants in the water, and regulates city temperature. In Seattle, an early adopter of green infrastructure, rain gardens absorbed 1.5 trillion liters of rainwate.

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'Gang Contracts' in Cicero and Berwyn Schools Raise Concerns About Criminalization of Youth

Irene Romulo

May 26, 2021 |

Cicero Independiente |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cicero, Illinois

"Gang contracts" are used by many schools as a way to tell students they are suspected of gang activity and must avoid such activity or face discipline or expulsion. Gang contracts have been put to extensive use in the high schools and middle schools of two towns, Cicero and Berwyn, that underwent large demographic shifts toward more Latinx residents since the 1990s. Meant to make schools safer and put students on a better path, they have been based often on vague, unsubstantiated suspicions in Cicero and Berwyn. Critics cite evidence that young people are wrongly criminalized and denied educations.

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With policing in the spotlight, districts search for alternatives to SROs

Meg McIntyre

May 25, 2021 |

Concord Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Plymouth, Minnesota

As New Hampshire schools debate the presence of police officers stationed in schools, one model they and other states can consider is found at Minnesota Intermediate School District 287. That district lowered in-school arrests dramatically by replacing school resource officers (SROs) with student safety coaches, trained in de-escalation tactics and crisis intervention. While some staff cite safety fears now, school officials say healthier relationships form between staff and students when help, not law enforcement, is the response to problems.

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In New Hampshire, young adults are finding their voice

Evan Edmonds

May 22, 2021 |

Concord Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Barriers to participation are keeping millennials from civic engagement in New Hampshire. Unaffordable housing, a lack of childcare, uncompensated civic engagement, office and voting hours that conflict with work schedules, and convoluted processes all prevent both the young and diverse populations from participating.

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How Alameda County addresses mental-health crisis response

Stephen Baxter

May 20, 2021 |

Santa Cruz Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Alameda and Santa Cruz counties have fielded their own mobile teams to respond to mental health crises as alternatives to police-only responses. Aimed at reducing conflicts with police, overuse of hospitals and jails, and involuntarily commitments for short-term emergency mental health care, the services' limited hours and resources mean that the police still handle the majority of such calls. Alameda's pilot, begun in July 2020, is able to provide help to about one-third of the four dozen monthly calls it gets. Santa Cruz's volume is higher. Impacts on involuntary commitments unclear.

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