By Mylan Denerstein

This is the Monitor’s 23rd report and second report focused on the compliance of the New York City Police Department’s (the “Department” or “NYPD”) Neighborhood Safety Teams (“NST”) and Public Safety Teams (“PST”) with constitutional requirements in executing stops, frisks, and searches. In March 2021, the NYPD initiated NST units in certain precincts to combat gun violence in high-crime areas. Officers in NST units engage in proactive stop, frisks, and searches, and generally they are not expected to respond to 911 calls-for-service. NST officers drive unmarked cars and wear uniforms distinct from those worn by NYPD patrol officers. In June 2023, the Monitor filed the Nineteenth Report of the Independent Monitor (the “19th Report”) with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which contained results of the Monitor team’s 2022 audit of the NSTs. That report concluded that NST officers performed substantially below constitutional standards and had a rate of unlawful Terry stops nine percentage points higher than their counterparts in regular patrol positions. In addition, the report concluded that supervisors in the Department failed to identify and remediate unlawful reported stops. To determine Fourth Amendment compliance with the stops, frisks, and searches conducted by NSTs since the filing of the 19th Report, the Monitor began a second, more comprehensive audit of NSTs and PSTs, another specialized proactive enforcement unit, to assess their compliance with court-ordered reforms. This follow-up report audits NST, PST, and regular patrol officers based on stops, frisks, and searches conducted in 2023. It compares NST officers with their counterparts on regular patrol and in PSTs and measures compliance rates of all supervisors and officers regardless of unit assignment. Based on the 2023 audit, the Report concludes that NST and PST officers are not performing stops, frisks, and searches at constitutional levels, and that supervisors of NST, PST, and patrol officers are not appropriately overseeing their officers. Some of the key findings are below: • This 2023 audit shows that NST officers’ constitutional compliance with respect to stops, frisks, and searches did not improve since the Monitor’s 2022 audit. • In the 2023 audit, NST officers had reasonable suspicion (and thus a lawful basis) for 75% of the reported Terry stops, slightly below the NST percentage of 76% compliance in the 2022 audit. • In the 2023 audit, NST officers made lawful stops at a rate of 75%, 17 percentage points lower than their patrol counterparts’ rate of 92%. • In the 2023 audit, PST officers also made lawful stops at a rate lower than patrol officers, with only 64% of their reported stops being assessed as lawful, which is 28 percentage points lower than their patrol counterparts’ rate of 92%. • In the 2023 audit, NST officers and PST officers overwhelmingly conducted self-initiated stops (70% and 77%, respectively, were self-initiated), while officers on routine patrol primarily conducted stops based on radio runs (68% were radio runs). • In the 2023 audit, regardless of the officer’s unit assignment (NST, PST, Patrol, or other), Terry stops based on a complainant/witness (100% lawful) or a radio run (94% lawful) were nearly all constitutional, while only 65% of self-initiated stops were assessed as lawful. • In the 2023 audit, NST officers had reasonable suspicion for only 58% of the frisks assessed and had a legal basis for only 54% of the searches assessed. • In the 2023 audit, despite significant numbers of unlawful stops, frisks, and searches, command-level supervisors of NST, PST, and Patrol officers only determined that 1% of stops were unlawful and 1% of frisks and searches were unlawful. • In 95% of the stop reports in this audit in which race was identified (N=385) and 93% of the BWC videos assessed (N=697), the person stopped was identified as Black or Hispanic. Of the 397 stop reports in which gender was indicated, 97% were male. Overall, in this audit, 89% of the individuals encountered were Black or Hispanic males. The NYPD must focus on supervisors ensuring implementation of constitutionally compliant stops, frisks, and searches. The Department must improve Fourth Amendment compliance levels and NST and PST units must be better supervised. The ball is in the Department’s hands, and the NYPD can do this. The law requires no less.

New York: New York Police Department Monitor, 2025. 51p.

By Europol. Strategic Group on Technology and Ethics 

Europol was mandated in 2019 by the EU Justice and Home Affairs ministers to create an Innovation Lab to support the law enforcement community in the area of innovation. The Lab aims to identify, promote and develop concrete innovative solutions in support of the EU Member States’ operational work. These will help investigators and analysts to make the most of the opportunities offered by new technology to avoid duplication of work, create synergies and pool resources. The activities of the Lab are directly linked to the strategic priorities as laid out in Europol Strategy 2020+, which states that Europol shall be at the forefront of law enforcement innovation and research. The European Clearing Board for ‘Tools, Methods and Innovations in the field of technical support of operations and investigations’ (EuCB) was launched by the Heads of Europol National Units (HENUs) in their meeting of 5 November 2020. It is composed of Single Points of Contact (SPoCs) from the Europol Innovation Lab, all EU Member States and the four Schengen-associated countries. SPoCs meet regularly in plenary meetings, during which they update each other on innovative projects and tools and decide on new joint collaboration activities. The Strategic Group on Technology and Ethics was founded in 2021 under the umbrella of the EuCB. Currently, the group is composed of representatives from Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. One of the objectives of the group has been to create these guidelines ‘Assessing technology in law enforcement: A method for ethical decision-making’ for the benefit of all EuCB members. A method for applying ethics in practical decision-making Digital transformation and technology are vitally important in enhancing order and security but may also pose a threat to fundamental rights and freedoms. This document presents a method for assessing novel technology from a perspective of widely accepted values and principles. The guidelines contain a description of the central values and ethical principles, and give examples in the form of use cases, illustrating how they may be applied in structured decision-making and evaluation, in situations involving new technology in law enforcement. The use cases show how the method can be helpful in forming transparent and understandable arguments for trustworthy decisions about the adoption and use of various types of technology in law enforcement. The values and principles discussed here are also valuable when cooperating European law enforcement authorities are in search of common moral ground in their respective practices. The work of the Strategic Group on Technology and Ethics is based on methods used in clinical ethics committees and insights from value-based practices in policing – in addition to studies of ethical guidelines for technology and a survey of values central to European law enforcement authorities. Part I of the guidelines explains the seven steps of the method, while Part II sets out use cases to illustrate the application of the method in practice. Precautions regarding the use cases It should be noted that the use cases in Part II have not been legally vetted. They serve to illustrate the present method, and although the conclusion of a use case may be that it is ethical to use the technology (under certain conditions), this should NOT be understood as a conclusion concerning its legality. Legal regulation of law enforcement’s use of technology exists on many levels, both nationally and internationally, and it is beyond the mandate and resources of the Strategic Group on Technology and Ethics to perform a legal assessment of each use case scenario. It is a virtue of the present guidelines that they provide for transparency concerning the principles and values taken into consideration by the decision-maker, and ensure that the making of a decision is specific with respect to local, political, social, cultural and economic contexts, and the technology in question. This also implies that the use cases will never merely be copied to a domestic setting. While they may provide guidance and inspiration, the decision-maker is always responsible for producing an original assessment that takes account of the concrete circumstances in the actual situation. Ethics and the law To the members of Europol, it is fundamental that any development and deployment of technology in law enforcement must be lawful. For the purpose of these guidelines, it is thus assumed that, in a concrete case, issues of legality have already been duly addressed according to appropriate procedures. In the field of new technologies in law enforcement, however, the law may sometimes lag behind, leaving grey areas that are open for interpretation. A structured ethical approach, as presented in these guidelines, may shed light on the values and principles involved, and suggest which interpretation is ethically defendable. In the same vein, the present value-based reflective method may play a constructive role in the legislative process, by making visible – and more understandable – the ethical concerns that legislators should take into account when striking the balance between freedom and security in the field of law enforcement. Law enforcement’s development and/or use of new technology also regularly raises issues related to fundamental rights, where law and ethics are closely intertwined and the lines between the two may become blurred. This, too, leaves space for the present method to contribute with new perspectives and enrich our understanding of the issues at stake. A ‘living’ document The intention is to make this a ‘living’ document, that is, a document that captures new technology as well as novel applications of technology already in use. This is provided for by the expansion over time of the collection of use cases, which may integrate further developments in this area on European and national levels. This should also be reflected in Initiatives for training in the use of the method. By its dynamic character the document aims to be a durable resource for law enforcement authorities and policy makers.

Europol 2025. 30p.

By Zoe Marchment · Paul Gill

Project Servator is a strategic method of policing designed to deter, detect and disrupt a wide range of criminal activity including terrorism. This paper is the first empirical study to evaluate the stop and search aspect of Servator deployments. We compare the outcomes of 3488 routine stop and searches and 510 Servator stop and searches to determine whether the stop and search tactics used in this initiative produce more positive outcomes than routine stop and searches. We also compare outcomes of stop and searches that occurred on the basis of suspicious behaviour alone, by ethnicity, and through using a geographically matched sample. Collectively, the results indicate that stop and searches that occur during Servator deployments are more efficient than routine stop and search.

Security Journal (2025) 38:13

By Stijn Aerts

Key takeaways » Understanding Recidivism Recidivism refers to re-offending after release from imprisonment, probation, or parole, measured by rates of re-arrest, reconviction, or re-imprisonment. In the EU, recidivism rates typically range from 30% to 50% within two years, with repeat offenders responsible for a significant portion of crime. » Causes of Recidivism Risk factors for recidivism include substance abuse, lack of education, mental health issues, limited employment opportunities, stigmatisation, weak reintegration support, and structural issues in the justice system. “Prisonisation,” or the negative social and psychological effects of imprisonment, exacerbates these challenges. » Age and Crime Patterns The age-crime curve shows criminal behaviour peaks in late adolescence and early adulthood, declining sharply thereafter. Offenders who engage in criminal activity at a younger age are more likely to re-offend. Rehabilitation should focus on young offenders to address impulsivity and decision making, and on older offenders to facilitate life-course transitions like stable employment or family formation. » Effective Interventions Education and vocational training equip offenders with employability skills and foster self-esteem. Substance abuse treatment targets addiction, a major driver of criminal behaviour. Cognitive-behavioural therapy addresses distorted thought patterns and promotes pro-social behaviour. Community support services provide resources like job placement, housing, and peer support to ease reintegration, supplementing in-prison rehabilitation programmes. Mental health treatment treats disorders linked to criminal behavior, reducing risks of re-offending. EUCPN I Toolbox Red Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm through inclusive processes involving victims, offenders, and communities. It can have preventive effects by addressing offenders’ accountability and reducing victim harm. Overall, tailored initiatives for specific offender groups, such as neurodivergent individuals or members of organised crime, demonstrate significant potential in addressing unique challenges. One example is the Risk-NeedsResponsivity (RNR) model, which aligns rehabilitation efforts with offenders’ risk levels, criminogenic needs, and learning styles.Evidence suggests RNR-aligned interventions are more effective than any other, with reductions in recidivism up to 60%. Residential programmes offer intensive, structured environments, ideal for serious offenders. Community-based approaches are cost-effective, maintain community ties, and serve lower-risk individuals » EU Good Practices Examples like the RUBIKON Centre in the Czech Republic, the Revion programme in Finland and Primus Motor in Denmark highlight innovative, evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism, emphasising holistic and community-oriented strategies. » Challenges Effective implementation faces hurdles like resource limitations, inconsistent application of models, and stigma. Tailored and integrated efforts are critical for long-term success. A holistic, evidence-based approach to reducing recidivism, combining individual rehabilitation, systemic reforms, and community engagement should be adopted.

Brussels: EUCPN, 2025. 44p.

By Kristin Turney, Alexander Testa, & Dylan B. Jackson

Objective. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between mother–youth closeness and stigma stemming from police contact. Background. Research increasingly indicates that stigma stemming from police–youth encounters links police contact to compromised outcomes among youth, though less is known about the correlates of stigma stemming from this criminal legal contact. Close mother–youth relationships, commonly understood to be protective for youth outcomes, may be one factor that buffers against stop-related stigma, especially the anticipation of stigma. Method. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a sample of youth born in urban areas around the turn of the 21st century, to examine the relationship between mother–youth closeness and stop-related stigma. Results. We find that mother–youth closeness is negatively associated with stop-related anticipated stigma but not stop-related experienced stigma. We also find that the relationship between mother–youth closeness and stop-related anticipated stigma is concentrated among youth experiencing a non-intrusive stop. Conclusion. Close mother–youth relationships may protect against stigma stemming from criminal legal contact.

 Journal of Marriage and Family 85(2):477–493. 2023

By Kristin Turney

Research shows youth police contact— a stressor experienced by more than one-quarter of urban-born youth by age 15—has deleterious mental health consequences for both youth and their mothers. Less is known about how youth’s fathers respond to this police contact, despite differences in how men and women respond to stress and relate to their children. I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to investigate the association between youth police stops and depression among youth’s fathers. Results show that fathers of youth stopped by the police, compared to fathers of youth not stopped by the police, are more likely to report depression, net of father and youth characteristics associated with selection into experiencing youth police stops. This association is concentrated among non-Black fathers and fathers of girls. The findings highlight how the repercussions of youth criminal legal contact extend to youth’s fathers and, more broadly, suggest that future research incorporates the responses of men connected to those enduring criminal legal contact. 

  J Urban Health (2023) 100: 269–278 pages

By Kristin Turney

 A family systems perspective suggests the repercussions of adolescent police contact likely extend beyond the adolescent to proliferate to the broader family unit, but little research investigates these relationships. I used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal survey of children who became adolescents during an era of proactive policing, to examine the relationship between adolescent police contact and four aspects of family life: mothers’ parenting stress, mothers’ monitoring, mothers’ discipline, and the mother-adolescent relationship. Adolescent police contact, especially invasive police contact, is associated with increased parenting stress, increased discipline, and decreased engagement, net of adolescent and family characteristics that increase the risk of police contact. There is also evidence that suggests adolescent police contact is more consequential for family life when mothers themselves had experienced recent police contact. These findings suggest the repercussions of police contact extend beyond the individual and proliferate to restructure family relationships.  

Social Problems 70(1): 2023, 256–273

By Kristin Turney

Police stops are a pervasive form of criminal justice contact among adolescents, particularly adolescents of color, that have adverse repercussions for mental health. Yet, the mental health consequences of adolescent police stops likely proliferate to parents of adolescents exposed to this form of criminal justice contact. In this article, I conceptualize adolescent police stops as a stressor, drawing on the stress process perspective to examine how and under what conditions this form of criminal justice contact damages the mental health of adolescents’ mothers. The results, based on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, suggest three conclusions. First, the mental health consequences of adolescent police stops proliferate, increasing the likelihood of depression and anxiety among adolescents’ mothers. These relationships persist across modeling strategies that adjust for observed confounders, including adolescent characteristics such as delinquency and substance use. Second, the relationship between adolescent police stops and mothers’ mental health is contingent, concentrated among mothers with prior exposure to the criminal justice system (either via themselves or their adolescents’ fathers). Third, mothers’ emotional support buffers the relationship between adolescent police stops and mothers’ mental health. Taken together, this research highlights the role of police exposure as a stressor that is experienced vicariously and that has contingent consequences and, accordingly, documents the expansive and proliferating repercussions of police contact. Given the concentration of police contact among marginalized adolescents, including adolescents of color, these findings highlight another way the criminal justice system exacerbates structural inequalities. 

Social Forces 100(3):1142–1169.2022, 28 p.

By Alexander Testa,  Kristin Turney,  Dylan B. Jackson,  Chae M. Jaynes  

In response to the changing nature of policing in the United States, and current climate of police–citizen relations, research has begun to explore the consequences of adolescent police contact for life outcomes. The current study investigates if and under what conditions police contact has repercussions for future orientation during adolescence and the transition into young adulthood. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study, a multisite longitudinal study of serious offenders followed from adolescence to young adulthood, results from a series of fixed-effects models demonstrated three main findings. First, personal and vicarious police contact, compared with no additional police contact, are negatively associated with within-person changes in future orientation. Second, any exposure to police contact, regardless of how just or unjust the contact is perceived, is negatively associated with future orientation. Third, the negative association between police contact and future orientation is larger for White individuals compared with that for Black or Hispanic individuals. Considering the importance of future orientation for prosocial behavior, the findings suggest that adolescent police contact may serve as an important life-course event with repercussions for later life outcomes.

Criminology. 2022; 60: p. 263–290

By Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission

New and emerging technologies, like remote working using video and online technologies, generative artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the delivery of services or undertake administrative tasks, and using social media to reach a wider audience are now common practice across the public sector. While advancements in technology and innovations in public service delivery are helping the public sector to deliver more efficient and effective services, they also increase fraud related risks by making it more difficult for fraudulent conduct to be detected, investigated, and prosecuted. This is because advanced technology can offer anonymity, psychological distance, speed and efficiency, and personalisation not seen before. This combined with current economic conditions, such as the rising cost of living, may increase the motivation for fraud by public sector employees or contractors. While technological advancements are changing almost all aspects of fraud, the CCC’s corruption work has identified three areas that are particularly prone to technology-related fraud threats: • procurement • recruitment • grant funding, regulation, and licensing.

State of Queensland: Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission, 2024. 4p.

In 2018, Queensland was the first Australian jurisdiction to provide police with new powers to conduct searches in cases where:

A missing person meets the definition of a ‘high-risk missing person’ because they are either: under the age of 13 or are at risk of serious harm if not found as quickly as possible

A police officer holds a reasonable suspicion that searching a particular place may locate the person or provide information relating to their disappearance, and

The occupier of the place cannot or will not give consent for the search to occur.

These provisions are contained in Chapter 7, Part 3A of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld).

Under section 879 of the Act, the CCC was required to review the provisions.

The CCC’s review identified that although the powers are rarely used, they proved to be a useful and valuable tool to progress investigations. It has made two recommendations for consideration by government.

State of Queensland, AUS: Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission: 2024. 22p.

By Samuel Langton, Stijn Ruiter, Tim Verlaan

This paper describes the scale and composition of emergency demand for police services in Detroit, United States. The contribution is made in replication and extension of analyses reported elsewhere in the United States. Findings indicate that police spend a considerable proportion of time performing a social service function. Just 51% of the total deployed time responding to 911 calls is consumed by crime incidents. The remainder is spent on quality of life (16%), traffic (15%), health (7%), community (5%), and proactive (4%) duties. A small number of incidents consume a disproportionately large amount of police officer time. Emergency demand is concentrated in time and space, and can differ between types of demand. The findings further highlight the potential implications of radically reforming police forces in the United States. The data and code used here are openly available for reproduction, reuse, and scrutiny.

POLICE PRACTICE AND RESEARCH 2023, VOL. 24, NO. 5, 523–538

By Samuel Langton, Tim Verlaan, Stijn Ruiter

Analyses of emergency calls for service data in the United States suggest that around 50% of dispatched police deployment time is spent on crime-related incidents. The remainder of time is spent in a social service capacity: attending well-being checks and resolving disturbances, for instance. These findings have made a considerable contribution to the discourse around public perceptions of the police and the distribution of public funds towards (or away) from law enforcement. Yet, an outstanding issue remains. No investigation has been undertaken into whether findings are robust to the different ways in which ‘time spent’ is operationalized in these studies. Using dispatch data for Amsterdam during 2019, this study compares three operationalizations of ‘time spent’. Additionally, in order to provide some context on the potential mechanisms through which these different operationalizations might yield different results, we report on dispatch numbers per incident category and provide an initial exploration into ‘multi-dispatch’ incident types. We find that general proportional breakdowns are fairly robust to the time measure used. However, for some incident categories (e.g. Health) and incident types (e.g. Shootings), analyzed in isolation, the results are not robust to the different operationalizations. We propose that the mechanism explaining this lack of robustness can be traced to the high dispatch numbers for specific incident categories and types, particularly those with an imminent threat to life.

Crime Science volume 12, Article number: 20 (2023)

By David Taylor

Creating a Policed Society? Provides an analysis of the evolution of policing and its impact on society in the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Victorian era. Unlike many previous police histories, which have focussed on specific (mainly urban) forces, it looks at developments across a region and brings out the complex and ongoing debates about policing, the diversity of police provision and the varied impact and responses that took place. As well as drawing on earlier works devoted to specific towns, the book offers a wide-ranging approach that utilises a range of hitherto underused sources that provide important insights into the details of police experience, both individual and collective. The book is structured around three major problem areas that have a relevance beyond the bounds of the West Riding. They are: (1) the extent to which the various police forces can be seen to be efficient; (2) the extent to which the Victorian West Riding can be seen as a policed society; and (3) the extent to which the policing in the county can be described as consensual. The author argues, firstly, that, despite ongoing problems retention, discipline and ill-health, most late-Victorian forces in the West Riding satisfied their local and national masters of their efficiency and were significantly less inefficient than their mid-century counterparts. Secondly, it is argued that notwithstanding the limitations to police powers, the Victorian West Riding was recognisably a policed society (or more accurately, a collection of policed societies), not least in the eyes of the majority of the local community. Finally, despite clear demonstrations of popular hostility to the police, in towns and country, in the third quarter of the nineteenth century and the persistence of anti-police sentiments, particularly in certain districts and among certain social groups, it is argued that, by a realistic and dynamic (rather than absolutist) definition of policing by consent, the Victorian West Riding was policed more by consensus than coercion.

Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield Press. 2024. 429p.

By Hossein Zare, Andrea N. Ponce, Rebecca Valek , Niloufar Masoudi , Daniel Webster, Roland J. Thorpe Jr. Michelle Spencer, Cassandra Crifasi , and Darrell Gaskin

Social vulnerability, race, and place are three important predictors of fatal police shootings. This research offers the first assessment of these factors at the zip code level. Methods: The 2015−2022 Mapping Police Violence and Washington Post Fatal Force Data (2015 −2022) were used and combined with the American Community Survey (2015−2022). The social vulnerability index (SVI) was computed for each zip code by using indicators suggested by CDC, then categorized into low-, medium-, and high-SVI. The analytical file included police officers who fatally shot 6,901 individuals within 32,736 zip codes between 2015 and 2022. Negative Binomial Regression (NBRG) models were run to estimate the association between number of police shootings and zip code SVI, racial composition, and access to guns using 2015-2022 data. Results: Moving from low-SVI to high-SVI revealed the number of fatal police shootings increased 8.3 times, with the highest increases in Blacks (20.4 times), and Hispanics (27.1 times). The NBRG showed that moderate-, and high-SVI zip codes experienced higher fatal police shootings by 1.97, and 3.26 times than low-SVI zip codes; zip code racial composition, working age population, number of violent crimes, number of police officers and access to a gun, were other predictors of fatal police shootings. Conclusions: Social vulnerability and racial composition of a zip code are associated with fatal police shooting, both independently and when considered together. What drives deadly police shootings in the United States is not one single factor, but rather complex interactions between social-vulnerability, race, and place that must be tackled synchronously. Action must be taken to address underlying determinants of disparities in policing.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 68, Issue 1, January 2025, Pages 126-136

By Roy S. Gutterman

The shocking epidemic of police brutality, highlighted by recent cases including the George Floyd killing, continues to inspire protests and efforts to reform police activity. Reforms often encompass all branches of government—legislative, administrative and executive, and, of course, the courts. The Fourth Estate, the press, also plays an important role in serving as a check on government power and abuses, particularly in police brutality matters. Opening up public records, specifically police disciplinary reports, misconduct complaints, and other records, has come to the forefront of efforts for police reform. Numerous recent cases of police brutality and police killings of citizens, often people of color, stopped by police, sometimes police with long records of prior abuses, helped incorporate public scrutiny into the public discussion on police abuses. Officers in several high-profile cases had a long paper trail of previous complaints and abuses. Had this information been publicized earlier, the conventional wisdom is that perhaps they might not have been on the job to commit additional crimes under the color of law. Thus, media organizations and individual journalists exercising their First Amendment rights delve into public records and use them as the backbone for disseminating information about important public issues. Police misconduct certainly falls within the ambit of important news coverage. One important outgrowth of these dramatic and life-and-death cases has been legislation intended to open up police misconduct records to public scrutiny, which in some states have been locked behind restrictive and anti-democratic laws aimed at keeping these public records from the people who need them the most: the public. This Article will look at a series of laws and the subsequent legal challenges seeking to unlock police misconduct public records with a particular focus on New York Civil Rights Law section 50-a, which was repealed in January 2020 to lift the blanket shielding release of police disciplinary and misconduct files. The law was initially enacted in the 1970s to prevent criminal defense attorneys from securing law enforcement disciplinary and complaint files to impeach police witnesses. Over the decades, though, the blanket exemption also meant that journalists and media organizations could not employ public records requests to adequately and thoroughly cover police misconduct or other employment matters involving corrections officers, firefighters, and some other government officials who make life-and-death decisions, and those who should be subject to public scrutiny. In addition to recent dramatic and life-and-death cases, a 2018 New York Court of Appeals decision strictly interpreted the statute to uphold withholding law enforcement disciplinary records in a far-reaching public records request. In the short time since the repeal, section 50-a has been the subject of nearly a dozen lawsuits. State trial courts have issued rulings on 50-a litigation in a dozen reported opinions, and in late 2022, two Appellate Division decisions offered the first word on the law from a higher court. In one case, a municipality, the City of Rochester, signaled that it intended to appeal the ruling to the state high court, the Court of Appeals. Following the repeal, efforts to seek police misconduct records continue to make their way through the administrative process and the courts. In New York, challenges continue to flow through the system. Despite the two recent Appellate Division opinions, word from the state’s high court, the Court of Appeals, may be needed to clarify how the 50-a repeal should be interpreted and what standards will apply to both lower courts and, more importantly, the police departments and municipalities holding those records. It is no surprise that those seeking the release of police disciplinary and misconduct records following the repeal have been stymied by government officials, buttressed by police unions and a general antipathy for public scrutiny. Even in cases where courts have ordered agencies to comply with records requests, at least one municipality reported that it would likely take up to two years or more to comply or turn over documents (continued)

Hofstra Law Review, vol. 52(3) 2024, 41p.

Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Transportation Research Board; National Cooperative Highway Research Program; Xiao Qin; Yang Li; Habib Tabatabai; Andrew Graettinger; Mohammad Wael Amer; Frank Gross; Bob Scopatz; Sam Arnold; Jason J. Bittner; Dan D'Angelo; Hannah Silber; Neil Janes

Bridge and tunnel strikes inflict serious damage to vehicles, highway bridges, and tunnels; cause injuries and fatalities; and impose detours and costly delays on highway users. Attempts by state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other bridge and tunnel owners to prevent bridge and tunnel strikes include signing, lighting, height detection systems, and actuated warning devices.

NCHRP Research Report 1132: Bridge and Tunnel Strikes: A Guide for Prevention and Mitigation, from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents state-of-the-art information to assist state DOTs in the prevention and mitigation of bridge and tunnel strikes by overheight motor vehicles.

Supplemental to the report is NCHRP Web-Only Report 411: Prevention and Mitigation of Bridge and Tunnel Strikes. (2025).

NCHRP. 2025.

By Jess Keller

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security released a new report today on the widespread use of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and its devastating impacts on individuals and communities, which can last generations and undermine peace and security efforts.

Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by combatants in conflict situations worldwide, decimating societies and fueling displacement. It remains a silent crime, with an estimated 80 percent of cases in conflict settings going unreported.

This fall, GIWPS convened leaders from Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Colombia to share lessons learned for responding to the global scourge of CRSV. Drawing on their insights, this report presents actionable policy recommendations for key stakeholders to hold perpetrators accountable, meet survivor needs, and follow through on their commitments to deliver justice. The report, authored by Jess Keller, was made possible with support from the Embassy of Germany in Washington, D.C.

Key Recommendations

“Pathways to Justice and Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations from the Frontlines” outlines detailed actions for the international community to hold perpetrators of CRSV accountable and meet survivors’ needs. Recommendations include:

Provide urgent survivor-centered medical and psychosocial services that include health care, legal assistance, and psychosocial support and address intersectional needs.

Co-create evidence-collection and documentation processes with survivors; prioritize data security and confidentiality; and train health workers, community leaders, police officers, judges, prosecutors, and qualified psychologists to minimize the risk of re-traumatization.

Challenge shame and transform stigma by amplifying survivor voices and leveraging community leadership.

Pursue criminal justice and accountability by strengthening national and subnational justice mechanisms, granting legal recognition to survivors, and utilizing sanctions to clearly and publicly condemn perpetrators and enablers.

Prioritize interim and comprehensive reparations to provide support, recognition, and compensation to survivors that address both immediate needs and post-conflict recovery.

Washington, DC: Georgetown University, Institute for Women, Peace and Security , 2024. 20p.

By The College of Policing (UK)

Key points Successfully identify stalking or harassment „ Think stalking first using the stalking mnemonic FOUR. Are the behaviours Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted and Repeated? „ In cases of harassment, review and reconsider why the case does not meet the description of stalking. Investigate thoroughly „ Establish any pattern of behaviour and relevant history, reported or otherwise. „ Follow all lines of enquiry, whether they point towards or away from the suspect. „ In cases of stalking or harassment it is likely there will have been use of technology to facilitate the behaviour, and reasonable lines of enquiry must be pursued. Care for the victim „ Be compassionate and understanding in your approach. „ Do not make judgements about a victim’s behaviour – focus on the evidence. „ Remember that safeguarding the victim and reducing risk take priority over a criminal justice outcome. „ Recognise that victims may be traumatised and in need of specialist support. „ Remember that victims may be entitled to an enhanced service under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime. „ Keep the victim updated on relevant stages of the investigation (eg, arrest, charge or release).

This advice will assist investigators responsible for a case once it has been transferred following the initial police response. This may be investigators working within public protection or CID, or in some forces, local policing investigators who retain stalking or harassment cases following an initial response

London: College of Policing (UK), 2024. 33p.

By Diogo G. C. Britto, Gianmarco Daniele, Marco Le Moglie, Paolo Pinotti, Breno Sampaio

We study the prevalence and effects of individuals with past criminal charges among candidates and elected politicians in Brazil. Individuals with past criminal charges are twice as likely to both run for office and be elected compared to other individuals. This pattern persists across political parties and government levels, even when controlling for a broad set of observable characteristics. Randomized anti-corruption audits reduce the share of mayors with criminal records, but only when conducted in election years. Using a regression discontinuity design focusing on close elections, we demonstrate that the election of mayors with criminal backgrounds leads to higher rates of underweight births and infant mortality. Additionally, there is an increase in political patronage, particularly in the health sector, which is consistent with the negative impacts on local public health outcomes.

Bonn:  IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, 2024. 60p.