Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Here Comes the Neighborhood

    September 29, 2020 |

    Self Evident |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    In New York's and San Francisco's Chinatowns, groups responding to anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment illustrate the tension between community-led public safety efforts that either rely on the police for assistance or actively avoid entanglement with the police because of a lack of community trust. The groups actively patrol streets and get to know residents and mediate disputes, maintaining a visible presence as a deterrent. There's no evidence they have reduced anti-Asian bias incidents, but residents of the two neighborhoods, mainly business owners, said both types of groups make them feel safer.

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  • Low-key cops and a white shaggy dog: How Marathon County transformed its response to residents in crisis

    September 28, 2020 |

    Wausau Pilot and Review |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Wausau, Wisconsin

    In Wisconsin, plain-clothes law enforcement officers are teaming up with mental health experts to handle calls related to crisis intervention. The goal of the Marathon County Crisis Assessment Response Team is to reduce unnecessary detentions of people experiencing mental health crises, while also increasing trust with the community. In the two years since the program launched, the "rate of hospitalizing or jailing people in crisis" has dropped in both consecutive years, which has consequently saved the county a great deal of expenses.

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  • Why Detroit Might Be the True Test of Whether More Cameras Make Cities Safer

    September 28, 2020 |

    70 Million |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    In Detroit, Project Greenlight uses video surveillance technology to try to solve and deter street crime. Instead of the police requesting private security video after a crime occurs, businesses pay to install the Greenlight system, which then streams video live to police analysts. The police claim it has lowered crime, but researches have found no evidence that it affects violent crime rates. Critics see the system as a pay-to-play system in which businesses buy better police protection. And they say that the cameras, and the use of facial recognition software, bias enforcement against people of color.

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  • Do We Need Police To Curb L.A.'s Traffic Violence? Some Cities Are Saving Lives Without Them

    September 24, 2020 |

    LAist |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

    Five years after Los Angeles launched its Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities, the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists killed on city streets have soared. By relying too heavily on the racially fraught and often ineffective practice of police stops of vehicles, and by not spending enough on street redesigns and automated enforcement technologies, L.A. has failed to make the kind of progress that cities like New York and Seattle have made with engineering innovations, stricter speed limits, and camera enforcement.

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  • In New Zealand, Police Work and Social Work Can Go Together

    September 22, 2020 |

    Bloomberg CityLab |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: New Zealand, South Auckland

    In South Auckland, epicenter of New Zealand's high rates of domestic violence, police respond to calls for help but instantly call in Te Taanga Manawa, a Māori-led team of multiple, culturally appropriate social-services agencies to guide families toward fixing the root of their problems. In the past, police may have made referrals to services agencies. But the Māori's distrust and the time lag in getting offers of help meant that families often rejected it, having papered over their conflict for a time. Now, nearly all accept the help offered while the crisis is still hot.

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  • Polish Drivers Beware: Road Work Ahead

    September 22, 2020 |

    Gazeta Wyborcza |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Lithuania

    A series of methodically planned and publicized measures to improve traffic safety have significantly lowered Lithuania's highway fatalities in what is now serving as a model for safety advocates in neighboring Poland. Starting nearly a decade ago, after traffic deaths peaked, Lithuania began increasing penalties for violations, toughening enforcement, and improving roadways. Each phase was accompanied by public education. More lenient laws and enforcement are blamed for Poland's relatively high traffic-death rate.

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  • Program offers alternative to calling police

    September 19, 2020 |

    Rockford Register Star |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    For 31 years, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) has used unarmed medics and crisis intervention experts to respond to mental health and other non-violent crises, saving money and preventing potentially violent reactions that can result from having police respond first. No effects on police officers' use of force have been measured. But CAHOOTS estimates it saves taxpayers $8.5 million annually in police costs.

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  • The US police department that decided to hire social workers

    September 19, 2020 |

    The Guardian |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Alexandria, Kentucky

    When Alexandria, Kentucky's police chief realized how many of his officers' calls were for mental health crises or minor interpersonal disputes, and then how many of these unresolved problems resulted in repeat 911 calls, he hired a social worker to follow up with people to offer health and social services after the police leave. Now the department's two staff social workers do that work, costing less than hiring more police and reducing repeat calls. Alexandria is a small town, but now its approach is being copied in nearby Louisville.

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  • Police have shot people experiencing a mental health crisis. Who should you call instead?

    September 18, 2020 |

    USA Today |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Daniel Prude's death in police custody illustrates a common flaw in how police respond to mental health crises, but reform advocates disagree on whether to improve police training or bypass police almost entirely. Mental health crises make up a large share of police calls, jailings, and fatal police shootings. Most police training on mental health responses is limited to 4-12 hours. Some departments put at least some officers through crisis intervention training. But critics of police-focused responses prefer non-police response teams, in use in a few cities.

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  • In Place of Police: The Oregon Experiment

    September 18, 2020 |

    New York Review of Books |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    CAHOOTS fields teams of mental-health first responders as a cost-effective and more humane alternative to sending the police to 911 calls for crises and even mundane problems concerning mental health, drugs and alcohol, domestic disputes, homelessness, and potential suicides. Weeks of observing their work illustrates the carefully circumscribed role they play in defusing the immediate crisis without necessarily solving the underlying problem entirely. Responding repeatedly to the same people's problems builds trust, but its ultimate success depends on a broader network of health and social services.

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