law-enforcement
Bill upping penalty for fleeing on foot will just fill jails, lawyers warn | Tuesday Morning Coffee
Recently approved Senate legislation, inspired by a fallen Scranton police officer, will disproportionately impact Black defendants, lawyers say.
We need to find a better way to balance police budgets | Roger Chesley
Local police officers shouldn't be revenue-generators for their municipalities. Making the switch would improve police-community relations.
Advocates call on Pa. to spend $40M to fight lead poisoning in kids | Monday Morning Coffee
This week, Oct. 24-30, is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
With homicides on the rise, Philly DA Krasner calls for more accountability from law enforcement
During a news conference Monday at the West Philadelphia YMCA, Krasner said accountability and integrity in law enforcement is necessary for public safety.
Will Pa. lawmakers pass local police radar bill — or let it pass them by again? | Mark O’Keefe
The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, the union representing members of the Pennsylvania State Police, added its support this year for the first time.
A changing story by police on a rural Pa. shooting helped fuel white vigilantes and misinformation
The incident made national news for a day, another thread in the country’s ongoing struggle with racism. But a closer examination by Spotlight PA and Pittsburgh City Paper reveals a changing narrative by law enforcement authorities the next day, the effects those inconsistencies had in how the story was portrayed, and how local community members took up arms in response.
Philly DA Krasner vows to arrest federal law enforcement if they break the law in Philadelphia
Krasner’s comments come after President Donald Trump mentioned Philadelphia and five other cities as destinations for an ad hoc federal police force.
A Pa. board is sidelining officers with mental health histories. But advocates say it’s proof of a problematic law.
Anyone with 302 on his record won’t meet state certification standards to become a police officer in Pennsylvania.
Criminal sentences are down in PA, and three more takeaways from an annual report
Criminal justice reformers say it’s not all good news. Diversionary programs remain woefully underused, they say, and data show that thousands of people are going to prison for technical violations of probation.
Report: State budget legislation included bill preempting Krasner on gun crimes
In the rush of last month’s budget debate, the General Assembly approved a measure giving the state Attorney General the authority to prosecute certain Philadelphia gun crimes for the next two years in cases when the district attorney chooses to not press charges. The provision was first reported Monday evening by both the Intercept, an […]
The officer who fatally shot a black teen in East Pittsburgh was acquitted. But that’s not the end of the story in Harrisburg
On Friday, the former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in East Pittsburgh was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges. Supporters of Antwon Rose II, who was 17 at the time of his death in June 2018, took to the streets of neighboring Pittsburgh to protest the decision. State representatives, including Summer […]
Pa. lawmaker wants to eliminate elected constables, report
A Republican state House member from Berks County says he wants to eliminate Pennsylvania’s elected constables and their deputies and transfer their work to county sheriffs. State Rep. Barry Jozwiak, retired state trooper and former county sheriff, wants to eliminate the constables through attrition, The Morning Call of Allentown reports, noting that Philadelphia undertook a similar action […]