Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
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news
Scandal-Plagued Broadcast Agency Poses Security Risks, Audit Finds
The embattled agency that oversees Voice of America and other federally funded media outlets has failed for a decade to adequately vet staff, creating a systemic security risk, a new government audit says. The joint report by the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was released Tuesday by… -
news
Trump Administration Slates $35M to Help Survivors of Human Trafficking
The Trump administration will issue more than $35 million in grants to provide safe housing to survivors of human trafficking. The Justice Department was set to announce Tuesday that its Office for Victims of Crime will award the funds to 73 organizations across the nation to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term… -
news
6 Big Takeaways From the Attorney General’s Capitol Hill Testimony
Attorney General William Barr announced a new investigation Tuesday while strongly defending the Justice Department’s actions in protecting the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon. Barr’s comments came in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, a hearing that not only was partisan as expected but characterized by rudeness by the panel’s Democrats. A Democrat would ask… -
news
Minneapolis Communities Form Watch Groups, Build Barricades to Fight Crime Surge
Communities in Minneapolis have established community watch groups—some consisting of armed individuals—to protect residents, with one community even erecting barricades in response to increasing crime levels, according to The Wall Street Journal. The city has seen a major surge in violent crime since the death of George Floyd, according to the Star Tribune, who died on… -
news
Trump Announces ‘Operation Legend’ to Combat Crime in Cities
When he was 4 months old, LeGend Taliferro of Kansas City survived open heart surgery. On June 29, at just 4 years old, he was shot and killed. His killer hasn’t been found. “Children are supposed to be our future and our 4-year-old son didn’t make it to kindergarten,” his mother, Charron Powell, said in… -
news
6 Possible Outcomes in Justice Department Probe of Spying on Trump
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has predicted indictments in the Justice Department’s probe of the origins of the FBI’s Russia-Trump investigation. Although U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut has been on the case since May 2019, however, it’s not clear what the precise criminal charges might be, if any. “I expect indictments based… -
news
‘Anti-Catholic Bigotry’: Rep. Jim Banks Demands Investigations Into Anti-Catholic Crimes
Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks denounced incidents of vandalism of Catholic churches that have occurred throughout the United States in a Friday statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation and called on the Department of Justice to investigate the attacks. The Indiana representative spoke out Friday following repeated instances of apparently anti-Catholic attacks in Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New… -
news
Attorney General Says Hollywood ‘Kowtowing’ to China, Warns US Executives Against Acting as Chinese Foreign Agents
Attorney General William Barr said Thursday the Chinese government has achieved a “massive propaganda coup” by shaping the content coming out of Hollywood, while warning U.S. business executives against acting as agents of the communist regime in possible violation of foreign lobbying laws. Speaking at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Barr offered a sober… -
opinion
New York City Eliminated Its Anti-Crime Unit. Violent Crime Has Surged.
New York City has seen a 53.5% increase in shootings and a 27% increase in killings this year, according to GianCarlo Canaparo, a legal fellow with The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. The New York City Police Department disbanded its plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit amid calls to defund the police in the wake of the killing of George… -
opinion
Left-Wing Newsrooms Fail the True Black Lives Matter Test
Recently, 8-year-old Secoriea Turner died at the hand of an unknown gunman in Atlanta. A car she was in with her mother and two other men went past a barricade set up by Black Lives Matter protesters, near the site of the police killing of Rayshard Brooks. Two people in the crowd of protesters opened… -
news
Justice Department Charges 4 With Trying to Dismantle Andrew Jackson Statue Near White House
Four people have been charged following an attempt to dismantle a prominent statue of former President Andrew Jackson near the White House, the Department of Justice said Saturday. All four of the men were purportedly caught on video allegedly either attempting to affix straps in order to bring down the monument or actively pulling the… -
news
500 Investigations Probe Arson, Destruction of Property in Riots, Attorney General Says
Attorney General William Barr said Thursday that the Department of Justice is conducting about 500 investigations into acts of arson and destruction associated with the protests and riots over the past several weeks. The DOJ is ramping up investigations into the activists who participated in destruction of private and public property over the last several weeks, Barr… -
news
America’s Top 20 Cities for Crime, and What Party Runs Them
Annoyed that Senate Democrats are blocking a police reform bill, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the 20 U.S. cities with the highest crime rates are all run by Democrats. “The Senate Republicans want very much to pass a bill on police reform,” Trump said during a Rose Garden press conference with Polish President Andrzej… -
opinion
Criminals Tearing Down DC Statues Should Be Prosecuted. Here Are the Laws They’re Violating.
It seems like every day angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of people they don’t like. And it is not just limited to statues of Confederate soldiers. Mobs have attacked statues of Mahatma Gandhi and former presidents Andrew Jackson and Ulysses Grant. The attempt to topple the statue of Jackson—which fortunately was foiled—occurred… -
opinion
Count the Crimes on the Federal Law Books. Then Cut Them.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has introduced the Count Crimes to Cut Act, which represents a much-needed step toward transparency in federal criminal law. Scholars across the political spectrum have, for many years, decried the astounding growth in federal criminal laws (see, for example, here, here, here, and here). According to best estimates—and estimates are all… -
opinion
DOJ Plays Offense on Girls Sports
When Idaho went to the mat to protect women’s sports, the ACLU vowed to see Republican Gov. Brad Little in court. One group it didn’t expect to see there is the U.S. Justice Department. But thanks to an administration that isn’t going to let the Supreme Court dictate gender roles, that’s exactly who will be… -
news
Felony Murder Charges Pondered for Atlanta Cop Who Shot Black Man, DA Says
A Georgia district attorney said murder charges could come as soon as Wednesday for the fired officer who allegedly shot a taser-wielding black man who resisted arrest and ran from police. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks “did not seem to present any threat to anyone” when he was shot Friday… -
opinion
Trump Administration Right to Reject Jurisdiction of International Criminal Court
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday announcing sanctions on individuals “directly engaged in any effort by the [International Criminal Court] to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States” or the “personnel of a country that is an ally of the United States without the… -
news
Attorney General Reassures Black Community on Criminal Justice, Vows to Prosecute ‘Extremist Agitators’
Attorney General William Barr said Thursday the Justice Department will work with law enforcement agencies to find ways to restore confidence among African Americans in the criminal justice system. During an online press conference, Barr also said law enforcement should prosecute “extremist agitators” of all ideological stripes. He specifically cited Antifa and the Boogaloo movement. … -
opinion
Why Third-Degree Murder May Be Wrong Charge Against Derek Chauvin
Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who arrested George Floyd and proceeded to press his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Some legal experts are asking whether these are the most appropriate charges to be brought against Chauvin. >>> Update: Minnesota Attorney…