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Dozens of states have tried to end qualified immunity. Police officers and unions helped beat nearly every bill.

Kimberly Kindy

October 07, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Fifteen months after Colorado became the first state to strip law enforcement officers of their legal immunity from civil lawsuits for misconduct on the job, only one lawsuit has been filed over a notorious incident and no real evidence has materialized that police department staffing will be gutted by resignations or recruiting problems. The 2020 social justice protest movement inspired dozens of proposed laws to end the practice called qualified immunity. All but Colorado's bill failed, based on dire warnings from police unions. The Colorado law exposes officers to damages up to $25,000.

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En pandemia se aceleró la digitalización de la atención ciudadana en ciudades y pueblos

Javier Sinay

October 05, 2021 |

Red/Acción |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Argentina

Para continuar con sus tareas y, entre ellas, la atención al público durante la pandemia, varios gobiernos locales en Argentina desarollaron chatbots, líneas 0800, aplicaciones y redes sociales como canales para los trámites que antes se hacían de modo presencial. En una localidad, hubo más de 20.000 descargas de la aplicación del Gobierno en teléfonos móviles y más de 23.000 reclamos realizados a través de ella.

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'They Saw Me And Thought The Worst'

Richard A. Webster

September 24, 2021 |

New Orleans Public Radio (WWNO) |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Comparing police accountability in Jefferson Parish, La. to neighboring New Orleans reveals a stark contrast because of federally imposed reforms in New Orleans. Jefferson's sheriff's office, one of the nation's largest police agencies not using body cameras, has a weak internal investigation process and lack of transparency for its use of force, which is influenced by race. New Orleans had similar problems until a Justice Department report led to a package of reforms that have helped reduce the use of force and increased accountability and transparency.

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What the Rest of America Can Learn From Colorado

Russell Berman

September 22, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

In the wake of 2020's social-justice protests and a controversial killing by Aurora police of a man in their custody, Colorado legislators passed the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, the first police-reform law of its kind in the nation. The law mandates several reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability, including prompt release of body-cam videos and allowing people to sue police officers for violating their rights. The law has resulted already in a crackdown on misconduct in Aurora. What's less clear is whether it can change the culture of policing.

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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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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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What can East Lansing expect from its police oversight commission?

Mikayla Temple

July 16, 2021 |

WSYM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Ann Arbor, Michigan

When Ann Arbor created a citizen panel overseeing its police department, it chose the approach that research shows is the one best suited to having real authority, and thus the most likely to reduce racial disparities in arrests and police shootings. It's too soon to know if the agency's investigations of complaints against police and review of police budgets and policies will achieve the ultimate goal of improving community trust in the police. But its chair says it is in a position to press for more accountability and transparency. East Lansing has just adopted the same model.

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Could A Ward Map Drawn By Citizens, Instead Of Aldermen, Become A Reality In Chicago?

Elly Fishman

July 12, 2021 |

WBEZ |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

California residents passed Proposition 11, a redistricting reform ballot initiative, in 2008 and in 2010, voters strengthened that reform by passing a bill to allow an independent commission to redraw state and congressional lines. Fourteen people, who were selected from 30,000 applicants, spent a year holding public hearings across the state to make informed decisions on how to fairly redraw district maps. As a result, more than a dozen Congressional incumbents lost their seats, which was not an intentional outcome but rather what resulted from decisions made based on the public testimony they heard.

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Rethinking policing: How Tempe de-escalation class changes officer behavior

Melissa Blasius

July 02, 2021 |

KNXV-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Tempe, Arizona

A controversial police shooting and other fraught encounters between Tempe police and residents prompted police to devise their own retraining regimen focused on de-escalation. The department observed other cities' programs and learned from its own officers who are known for defusing potentially volatile situations. After training some officers with the new curriculum, the department invited researchers to compare body-cam footage of trained and untrained officers. Though the findings did not show fewer shootings or uses of force, they did show a less aggressive, more calming approach.

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