Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arkansas Lawmaker Again Pushing Mandatory Seat Belt Law
Feb 2 2009 // The lead sponsor of legislation that would allow officers in Arkansas to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts says he’ll also call on police agencies to collect data on the race of motorists they stop for the...
Latest Pennsylvania Fire Claims 15 Houses; Arson Suspected
Jan 27 2009 // The latest in a string of suspicious fires in this suburban Philadelphia city tore through a block of row houses, heavily damaging 15 homes, displacing dozens of people and prompting local officials to declare a state of...
Foreclosures, Vacant Properties Increase with Continuing Financial Crisis
Jan 25 2009 // Properties Vulnerable to Vandalism, Theft In communities across America, several factors have combined to create a “perfect storm” of property risk. Growing numbers of foreclosures are leaving scores of...
Continuing Financial Crisis Leads to Vacant Properties, Vulnerable to Vandalism, Metal Theft
Jan 25 2009 // Brooklyn, N.Y. — Thieves who broke the locks on an unoccupied apartment building stripped the entire building of its copper piping, valued at more than $30,000. Las Vegas — The entire electrical system,...
Auto Thefts Down in Tulsa
Jan 20 2009 // Police in Tulsa, Okla., say that a 30 percent drop in auto thefts last year is largely due to officers targeting thieves who snatch cars to make quick cash from scrap metal. Roughly 2,500 vehicles were reported stolen in...
Phoenix Public Safety Budgets Affected by Large Deficit
Jan 20 2009 // The Phoenix police and fire departments won’t be spared the budget ax as the city pares down its spending to offset a projected $270 million budget deficit. The budget cuts aimed at the departments are expected to...
Louisiana State Police Say Roads Safer Due to Increased Enforcement
Jan 15 2009 // Increased enforcement on the state’s roadways by Louisiana State Police troopers has led to a decrease in the number of fatal crashes, injury crashes, and even minor property damage crashes, the LSP says. State...
FBI Reports Drop in Crime Including Arson
Jan 12 2009 // The nation experienced a 3.5 percent decline in violent crime and a 2.5 percent decline in property crime for the first six months of 2008, according to the federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Violent crime was down in...
Mississippi Police Station Closed Due to Lapsed Workers’ Compensation Policy
Dec 31 2008 // The Port Gibson, Mississippi Police Department was open Monday, three days after a payment lapse on an insurance policy forced its closure. Mayor Fred Reeves said the workers’ compensation insurance policy for Port...
Kentucky Police Use Computer Program to Track Stolen Property
Dec 30 2008 // A computer program is helping western Kentucky police track down stolen property that’s been sold to pawn shops. Paducah’s five pawn shops submit records of transactions, including serial numbers of items...
Connecticut Town Settles Lawsuit over Suspect’s Death
Dec 8 2008 // The city of West Haven, Connecticut has agreed to pay nearly $400,000 to the family of a man who was killed on Interstate 95 while running from police. The family of 18-year-old Gary “Chris” Tyson had accused...
Alabama Police Fear 2 Sought for Insurance Agency Fraud Have Fled
Dec 4 2008 // A Gulf Shores police investigator says two men sought for questioning in an alleged insurance fraud scheme on the Alabama Gulf coast may have fled to Turkey. Authorities want to question Benton Gray Harvey and Jonathan W....
Texas Supreme Court Considers Auto Policy Exclusions Case
Dec 1 2008 // The Texas Supreme Court must decide if an Ohio insurance company should pay in the case of a boy injured by a driver who was speeding away from police. Richard Gibbons was evading San Marcos, Texas, police in 1999 when his...
Vegas Police Officers Sue Makers of Taser Weapons
Nov 25 2008 // Two Las Vegas police officers who were seriously hurt after being shocked by Taser weapons in 2003 have sued its makers, saying the company failed to properly warn the department about the potential for injury. About a...
1.4 Million Michigan Residents to Travel During Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov 21 2008 // Despite the economy, many will travel by car and air this holiday weekend. An estimated 1.4 million Michiganians said they will travel during the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday period, a 6-percent decrease from last year, says...
New York Police Departments Launch Statewide Seat Belt Checks
Nov 18 2008 // Law enforcement agencies across New York state are launching a seat belt eforcement campaign timed to the start of the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season. State police, sheriff’s departments and local police...
New Hampshire Police Chief-Lawmaker Wants Tougher Drunk Driving Law
Nov 3 2008 // A New Hampshire state lawmaker who also works as a police chief wants to make it illegal for suspected drunken drivers to refuse to take breath tests. Dalton Police Chief John Tholl, a Republican, believes the current...
Texas Insured Driver Database in Effect Statewide
Oct 20 2008 // TexasSure, the vehicle insurance verification database designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas, is now available to law enforcement statewide, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported. The...
Texas Rolls Out Insured Driver Database Statewide
Oct 3 2008 // TexasSure, the vehicle insurance verification database designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas, is now available to law enforcement statewide, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported. TexasSure...
Protestor at GOP Convention to File Brutality Lawsuit
Sep 29 2008 // An anti-war protester who claims he was shot with a police projectile at close range during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul announced on September 26 that he is planning to sue the city of St. Paul and...
