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As opioid settlement funds hit state coffers, a marketing blitz begins

Jan 15, 2024
State and local officials are seeing the first wave of the $50 billion arrive. They're also seeing pitches for products to spend it on.
How to use opioid settlement funds has become part of the conversation around addiction. Above, Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, holds up a bag of fentanyl at a hearing.
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Taser drones in schools? The idea isn't completely kaput

Dina Temple-Raston, host of the Click Here podcast, walks us through the polarizing school safety proposal.
Axon, maker of the Taser, is reportedly keeping its controversial "Taser drone" idea alive, said journalist Dina Temple-Raston.
David McNew/Getty Images

What Biden's executive order on policing does, and doesn't do

May 27, 2022
The National Urban League's Marc Morial says the order is limited and not a replacement for legislation.
President Joe Biden signs an executive order on police reform in the East Room of the White House on May 25, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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States spend more on security facing continued threat of violence

Jan 14, 2021
It's another cost for states whose tax revenues are down due to the pandemic economic slowdown.
The continuing threat to statehouses across the country means more expenses for state law enforcement, and, in some cases, the National Guard.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

How police departments got billions of dollars of tactical military equipment

The program that sends surplus weapons to local law enforcement has drawn criticism in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality.
Amid protests, some want to end the program that sends military gear to local law enforcement agencies. Above, police ride an armored vehicle on May 31 in Bellevue, Washington.
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Community policing: a more holistic approach to law enforcement

The idea is to create more formal partnerships between community members and officers to foster greater trust.
A social worker and member of the Prevention and Protection service help a homeless man in Paris in 2014.
Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images

FBI says new data on police use of force is coming this summer

Jun 1, 2020
The FBI also says that just over 40% of law enforcement officers are contributing to the National Use-of-Force Data Collection.
The participation of law enforcement agencies in this program, to track when officers use lethal force or seriously injure someone, is voluntary.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

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Copper thefts a common and costly crime

Feb 7, 2019
The Missouri Department of Transportation spent almost $1 million last year on repairing street lights caused by thefts of copper wire.
The Missouri Department of Transportation spent almost $1 million last year on repairing street lights caused by thefts of copper wire.
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Police and private security personnel monitor security cameras at the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative on April 23, 2013 in New York City.
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