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Articles by Derek Gilna

Fight Mass Incarceration? There’s an App for That

by Derek Gilna

In the eyes of many, the American justice system is in need of reform on several levels, especially in the area of bail. Pretrial detainees account for 70% of the incarcerated, and many are behind bars simply because they lack money for bail. The number of pretrial ...

Troopers Try to Frame Activist, But Record It

by Derek Gilna

Journalist Michael Picard, who has previously recorded instances of police misconduct, was arrested by Connecticut state troopers on September 11, 2015, while he lawfully open carried a firearm and recorded their activities at a DUI checkpoint on his cell phone. However, after they confiscated his phone, the ...

Effectiveness of ShotSpotter Not Proven

by Derek Gilna

The recent  introduction of ShotSpotter in November in  2017 gunshot-detection system in parts of Cincinnati, Ohio, gives local police a technological edge in the prompt detection and pinpointing of gunshots, but experts are divided on the impact it will have on reducing crime. That system provides to ...

Florida Deputy Arrested for Burglarizing 85-Year Old's Home

by Derek Gilna

West Palm Beach Sheriff's Deputy Jason Cooke was arrested for burglarizing the home of a terminally-ill Boynton Beach, Florida man who had been transported to a hospital by paramedics for a medical emergency on September 12, 2017.  Cooke used information obtained by misusing the privileges of his ...

Report: Asset Forfeiture Distorts Police Priorities

by Derek Gilna

A new report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

argues that drug-crime  asset forfeiture by law enforcement agencies, which it termed "police for profit," could have had unintended consequences beyond the well-documented abuses of the process.  That report explained  that these asset forfeitures were ...

Las Vegas Police Officer Found Guilty of Physically Abusing Handcuffed Suspect

by Derek Gilna

 Former Las Vegas police officer Richard Scavone pleaded guilty in October of 2017, in federal court, of assaulting a handcuffed female suspect.  The guilty plea sets the stage for his future sentencing, when he will face a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $100,000 ...

Brooklyn Teen Claims Two NYPD Detectives Raped Her, Demands Justice

by Derek Gilna

An 18-year old woman who calls herself Anna Chambers has created a firestorm after she claimed that two Hew York Police Deparment (NYPD) Brooklyn South  detectives raped her on September 15, 2017,  after a drug arrest, and then forced her to perform oral sex on them afterwards. ...

Sheriff's Officials Indicted After Abusive School Drug Sweep

by Derek Gilna

An unprecedented school-wide  sweep of Worth County High School by Worth County, Georgia, Sheriff's officials on April 14, 2017,  allegedly carried out to search for drugs came up empty, but instead resulted in charges filed against  Sheriff Jeff Hobby, and two of his deputies for alleged sexual ...

Cleveland Policeman With History of Excessive Force Arraigned on Assault Charges

by Derek Gilna

Criminal justice experts generally agree that past behavior is the best predictor of future action, and the history of Cleveland police Sgt. Christopher Graham seems to bear that out.  Graham was charged with first-degree misdemeanor unlawful restraint and assault after being accused of throwing down  an 18-year ...

Use of Sentencing Mitigation Videos Grows

by Derek Gilna

Defendants who plead guilty on both the state and federal level generally are interviewed by the sentencing jurisdiction’s probation department, which seeks background information regarding the criminal history, family history, and health history of the defendant in order to assist the judge in determining an appropriate sentence. ...

 

 

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