Whether you’re on the right or the left, if you care about civil rights, property rights, or liberty, abolishing civil asset forfeiture should be high on your agenda.
All over this country, prison cells are filled with innocent people falsely convicted for crimes they did not commit, and many of them will spend the rest of their lives regretting the day they agreed to talk to the police.
The Cato Institute has released Policing in America—an extensive national public opinion report that explores Americans’ attitudes toward the police based on an original Cato Institute/YouGov national survey of 2,000 Americans.
An Associated Press investigation has revealed that, across the United States, police officers abuse their access to confidential databases to look up information on neighbors, love interests, politicians, and others who had no connection to a criminal investigation. The databases house intensely personal information—not just criminal histories, but car registration, home addresses, phone numbers, and […]
Here are some links to close our September. Happy Fall everyone! Police body cameras are already failing their communities. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sparred in the first of three presidential debates. The officer who fatally shot Terrence Crutcher in Tulsa, OK has been charged with 1st degree manslaughter. The U.S. Congress overrode a presidential […]
A lack of basic police accountability foments distrust within communities, especially communities of color, turning the social contract on its head.
Metro and I do not get along. Even when it isn’t on fire, which is rare, it manages to burn me up. A few weeks ago, I was on my way home from a party. I looked great, was a little tipsy, and was upset because I had dropped my phone while walking to the […]
The recent protests in major cities nationwide against police violence have showcased the degree to which the lines between the police and military have been blurred. Weapons of war, including tanks, rifles, and paramilitary units, are increasingly being used by police on American streets. SWAT raids, once used only in high-intensity situations like bank robberies […]
Editor’s note: This blog post contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault. Reader’s discretion is advised. I lived in Erlangen, Germany for much of 2009, getting around on a bicycle. After the big April beer festival, the “Bergkirchweih,” my lock was cut and my bike was thrown down a hill and set on fire (it […]
Should police officers be obligated to inform suspects when they can refuse to be searched? Why might it be wise to refuse to consent to a search, even if the person being searched is not guilty of a crime and has ‘nothing to hide?’
Tensions between police and the citizens of Chicago are continuing to rise after CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in November. Even calls for the mayor’s resignation have begun echoing across the United States. Now, a top Chicago lawyer has stepped down after being accused of hiding evidence in another fatal […]
A California sheriff’s deputy was arrested in Pennsylvania in December as part of a drug bust that seized over $2 million dollars in marijuana. That’s right, the deputy was arrested trying to sell millions of dollars of a substance his department has likely put other people in prison for selling. Countless stories of police officials being caught in […]
Should police officers go on trial every time they kill another person? If not, what are the appropriate considerations for police actions (and possible crimes) in the context of the line of duty, and are they used in America today? Be sure to check out our new video on police brutality in the wake of […]
Dozens of innocent people are terrorized, shot, or killed each year because of botched SWAT team drug raids on wrong houses. Dozens more are killed each year because of botched SWAT team drug raids on the correct houses. This needless suffering and death is largely a result of the massive increase in police militarization in […]
The following blog post by Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute originally appeared on Cato’s blog on December 1st, 2015. Read an excerpt below. Backpage offers 11 categories of ads, primarily facilitating mundane transactions like used-lawnmower sales and vacation rentals but also with an “adult” section broken down into titillating subcategories such as “dom[ination] & […]
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