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Articles by Kevin Bliss

A Brief History of K-9 Units in Law Enforcement

by Kevin W. Bliss

The history of canine use in modern day policing began in the 1950s and ‘60s as a response to the “Negro problem” and has been used as a tool to “civilize the savagery of urban orders,” according to civil rights advocates of that time.

Societies began ...

A Brief History of K-9 Units in Law Enforcement

by Kevin W. Bliss

The history of canine use in modern day American policing began in the 1950s and 1960s, during the tumultuous Civil Rights Era and has since been used as a tool to “civilize the savagery of urban order by pacifying urban space,” according to many civil rights ...

911 Call Analysis Debunked as Pseudoscience – But It Helped Send Many to Prison

by Kevin W. Bliss

The 911 call analysis method used to convict hundreds of defendants for the past decade has been debunked as pseudoscience. Civil rights activists call to have prosecutors held responsible for using it in cases, while being cognizant of its inadmissibility.

Tracy Harpster is the chief architect ...

It’s Time for Jaywalking Laws to Take a Hike

by Kevin W. Bliss

The crime of jaywalking becomes more and more uncommon as communities across the nation push to have the charge decriminalized or abolished.

Jaywalking is a term started around 1910-1920 as a means of denigrating those without vehicles walking the streets. At the time the term “jay” ...

Technology Allows for Overbroad Searches on Warrants

by Kevin W. Bliss

Geofence location and reverse search warrants are the new trends in law enforcement agencies’ criminal investigations. But, their use concerns civil rights advocates because of the overbroad scope of their results and the means by which the data is obtained.

Geofence search warrants are issued to ...

Sensitive Information in Police Database Vulnerable to Hacking

by Kevin W. Bliss

The law enforcement tech company, ODIN – which catalogs tactical plans for police raids, criminal investigation information, and the personal data of any person coming into contact with police whether as victim, criminal, or confidential informant – was hacked January of this year after warnings of ...

$100 Million Awarded in Federal Grant Money for Recidivism Reduction

by Kevin W. Bliss

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (“BJA”), created by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced on October 5, 2022, that it was awarding over $100 million in grant money to programs geared toward recidivism reduction and the successful reentry of juveniles and adults into society after a ...

Governor of Oregon Leaves Legacy of Reformation While Leaving Office

by Kevin W. Bliss

Criminal justice reform proactivist Governor Kate Brown (D) has granted over 1,100 clemencies during her two terms in office, more than the 50 previous governors before her combined. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and input from the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (“CJRC”) founded in 2015 ...

New San Francisco Ordinance Allows Police to Access Private Security Cameras

by Kevin W. Bliss

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 4 on September 26, 2022, to adopt a proposed ordinance presented by Mayor London Breed to allow unfettered, instant access to private and business-owned surveillance camera footage with no more than the owner’s permission for public safety ...

Mislabeling of Marijuana Products Is a National Problem

by Kevin W. Bliss

A recent study showed that many vendors of hemp products legal under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, actually carry a chemical makeup of higher than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), classifying it as marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance. ...

 

 

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