Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
-
news
Leading Critic of Trump’s Attorney General Pick Withdrew Accusation in 1986
A vocal opponent of confirming Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as U.S. attorney general recanted part of his critical testimony 30 years ago against Sessions being confirmed as a federal judge. “My recollection on this matter has now been refreshed,” @GerryHebert says. J. Gerald Hebert, a former Justice Department lawyer, made racially charged allegations against Sessions… -
opinion
No, Jeff Sessions as Attorney General Won’t Mean Criminal Justice Reform Is Dead
Media and advocacy groups have claimed that President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to be our next U.S. attorney general has killed criminal justice reform. But those naysayers have forgotten their history and the nature of federalism. In 2001, it was not a Democrat but Sessions who introduced measured sentencing legislation to… -
opinion
The Trump Administration Should Crack Down on Silly Rules That Carry Criminal Penalties
President-elect Donald Trump’s “Contract with the American Voter” pledges that “for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.” This should be celebrated by the majority of Americans who think the federal government does too much. At the outset of this regulatory unwinding, one potential priority stands out above the others. The Trump… -
opinion
Widespread Coverage of Liberal Hate Crimes ‘Study’ Shows Media’s Fake News Problem
So much for taking America’s “fake news” problem seriously. Ever since Donald Trump was elected president, there’s been an abundance of hand-wringing over the “fake news” that supposedly is rampant on social media. Yet missing has been any kind of serious searching among the mainstream media about whether it could learn any lessons from this… -
opinion
Elections Bring New Opportunities to Consider Pitfalls of Overcriminalization
As politicians, lawyers, and policy wonks prepare for transition at both the federal and state levels, new administrations are already setting their agendas for their upcoming terms. One problem that leaders on both sides of the aisle would be well-served to address is overcriminalization. Overcriminalization is the misuse of criminal law to punish seemingly every… -
opinion
The Slow March to Rooting Out Corruption in Guinea
Corruption in the small West African nation of Guinea is pervasive. Bribery is an everyday reality, and it is often the key to securing lucrative contracts and business licenses. It should come as no surprise, then, that the vast majority of Guineans live in poverty, despite the country being rich in natural resources. In the… -
news
Obama’s DOJ Fines Police Department $10K for Refusing to Hire Noncitizens
Denver County’s sheriff office has been slapped with a fine by the Department of Justice because it refused to hire noncitizens as deputies. From the beginning of 2015 through last March, the Denver Sheriff Department went on a major hiring binge, adding more than 200 new deputies. But those jobs ended up only going to citizens,… -
opinion
ISIS Social Media Campaign Falters Under Military Assault
Military advances against Islamic State-, or ISIS, held territory in Iraq and Syria have produced a welcome byproduct: a marked decline by 70-80 percent in the output of social media propaganda by the terror group. ISIS fighters were recently chased out of the Syrian village of Dabiq by Syrian rebel forces without offering much resistance… -
news
9 Controversies Obama Didn’t Mention When He Denied Any ‘Major Scandals’
President Barack Obama discarded eight years of controversies surrounding his administration, including the targeting of conservative groups, veterans lacking health care, the administration’s response to a terrorist attack weeks before the 2012 election, and a botched gun sting. During a Democratic fundraising event in San Diego Sunday, Obama attacked Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the former… -
opinion
Exxon Mobil Fights the Abusive Behavior of Democrat Attorney General’s Climate Inquisition
Exxon Mobil Corp. is fighting back against New York’s Democrat attorney general who is demanding decades’ worth of documents about the company’s position on global warming and climate change. On Oct. 17, Exxon asked a federal judge in Texas, Ed Kinkeade, to stop the abusive behavior of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman by tossing… -
news
Germany Threatens Facebook With Criminal Action for ‘Hate Speech’ Violations
Last month, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas suggested that Facebook and Twitter could be held criminally liable if they do not step up their efforts to remove content considered “incitement to hatred” according to the Financial Times. Among Maas’ contentions were that Facebook was more likely to remove content that was flagged by a government-funded… -
opinion
From Apples to Soup: How the Administrative State Creates Food Crimes
What do cottage cheese, “extra fancy” apples, and chicken noodle soup all have in common? It’s a crime to sell any of them without meeting arcane federal regulatory standards. Heritage Foundation scholars James Gattuso and Diane Katz write in their 2016 report, “Red Tape Rising,” that the costs of federal regulations “have not been fully… -
opinion
The All-Out Assault on the First Amendment
The Constitution has long been subject to attacks from individuals hostile to its guarantees of freedom, economic opportunity, and limited government, but in recent days no other provision has been as widely and intensely attacked as the First Amendment. From the IRS targeting conservative groups to those trying to limit the ability of Americans to… -
opinion
Improper Recycling Could Land You in Jail: How Overcriminalization Threatens Everyone
Criminal laws and regulations in the United States have increased to absurd proportions in the past few decades, posing a growing threat to our constitutional liberties. There are nearly 5,000 criminal laws and an estimated 300,000 or more criminal regulations at the federal level alone. In fact, there are so many possible criminal offenses that… -
opinion
Fighting the Good Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria
The Heritage Foundation was on the road in West Africa carrying the message of economic freedom. One of our stops was Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos is the largest city in Africa (its metro area population exceeds 20 million) and Nigeria has the largest population (by some estimates nearly 180 million) among the 54 countries on that… -
opinion
Supreme Court Should Make Decision That Upholds That Congress, Not Agencies, Should Make Criminal Law
As the United States Supreme Court begins its new term next Monday, one of the first cases it will hear is Salman v. United States, a significant criminal case involving insider trading, one of the murkiest areas of criminal law. In 2004, Bassam Salman, a grocery wholesaler, received valuable inside information from his brother-in-law-to-be Michael… -
news
Cruz, Lee Step Up Claims That Justice Department Isn’t Doing Enough to Protect Churches
Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah are pressing their case that the Department of Justice favors abortion clinics over churches, demanding that the law enforcement agency take steps to ensure “the rights of all American citizens”—not just some—are protected. In a letter sent Tuesday, obtained first by The Daily Signal, Cruz… -
opinion
It’s Rude to Put Your Feet on Subway Seat, but It Shouldn’t Be a Crime
A freelance reporter recently publicized her shocking evening in a New York City jail cell following her arrest while riding the subway. One might think conduct would have to be quite outrageous to justify arrest on the nation’s busiest subway system. What was she doing to bother fellow passengers to the point that she needed… -
opinion
The Great George Washington Bridge Scandal, Part II
The federal traffic-jam prosecution of two former officials in New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration begins this week. The officials reduced access for one week to the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, New Jersey, to New York as political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee for not supporting their boss in his re-election… -
opinion
‘Bridgegate’ Was Stupid, Not Criminal: DOJ Indictment Oversteps
This week, the infamous “Bridgegate” scandal goes to trial, with former officials in New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration facing serious charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. Not since London Bridge came falling down in 1281 has an overpass caused such a stir. The backstory: In 2013, Christie was running for re-election. Like every…