Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
-
opinion
Education Department’s Sex Assault ‘Agreement’ With UVA Shows Need for Campus Reform
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a press release crowing about its “agreement” with the University of Virginia, “ensur[ing] that the university’s handling of sexual violence and sexual harassment complies with the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.” You might remember that the University of Virginia was falsely accused of… -
opinion
How Will the DOJ Respond if Volkswagen Knowingly Deceived the EPA?
The Environmental Protection Agency recently sent a Notice of Violation to Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., alleging that “VW manufactured and installed [software] in certain model year 2009 through 2015 diesel light-duty vehicles equipped with 2.0 liter engines.” The software “senses whether the vehicle is being tested or not based on various inputs including the… -
opinion
Michigan Lawmakers Win on Overcriminalization Reform
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said even a dog knows the difference between “being stumbled over and being kicked.” Our criminal law traditionally distinguished between stumblers and kickers: those who commit a morally blameworthy act, called an actus reus, along with an “evil” frame of mind, known as mens rea or scienter. Legislators maintained that distinction… -
opinion
Pa. Democrat Attorney General Has License Suspended
In a historic move, all five justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have voted to temporarily suspend the law license of the state’s attorney general, Kathleen Kane, based on the recommendation of the court’s 13-member disciplinary board. This leaves the office of the state attorney general in limbo, since Pennsylvania’s constitution requires that the attorney… -
opinion
Senator Hatch Pushes For Criminal Justice Reform That Includes ‘Mens Rea’
This afternoon, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, delivered an important speech on the Senate floor arguing that any criminal justice reform effort that is truly worthy of the name ought to include mens rea reform (also referred to as criminal intent). I recently argued, as have other Heritage scholars, that there is a pressing need for… -
opinion
The Ahmed Clock Controversy Shows One Thing, Overcriminalization
“It made me feel like I wasn’t human. It made me feel like a criminal.” That’s what Fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, said after police handcuffed him and brought him to a juvenile detention center for mug shots, fingerprints, and interrogation; all because he brought his home-made digital clock to school to impress his teacher. This is… -
news
Ahmed Mohamed Wasn’t the First: 9 Other Times Schools Treated Students Like Criminals
Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old student in Irving, Texas, made headlines yesterday after local authorities arrested him for bringing a homemade clock to his high school. According to news reports, the teen showed his creation to an English teacher before being taken out of school in handcuffs. Mohamed is not the first student to face the… -
news
Meet 3 Women Who Spent More Than 15 Years in Prison for Nonviolent Drug Crimes
Stephanie George has never used drugs, but she earned a prison sentence of life without parole for a drug-related crime. Today, by the luck of a commutation from President Obama, George is living again, learning to mother her 24-year-old daughter and working in a restaurant because her criminal record impedes her hair-stylist ambitions. “I thank… -
opinion
Why ‘Sagging Pants’ Should Not Be a Criminal Offense
The war on bad fashion has a new battlefront: Dadeville, Ala. Members of the Dadeville City Council are considering an ordinance to punish people wearing sagging pants or revealing miniskirts in public. “I am ashamed to see all the sagging pants around here,” said Frank Goodman, the councilor who proposed the law. “We are going… -
news
How a Catholic Cardinal Is Responding to the Assault on Marriage and Family
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—Pope Francis’s visit to the United States next week will coincide with a meeting of Catholics from all over the world to discuss some of the most pertinent issues facing the church. For a society that’s become increasingly secularized, the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia will be an opportunity for bishops to discuss… -
opinion
What’s Missing From the Washington Debate on Criminal Justice Reform
There has been a lot of talk lately on Capitol Hill about criminal justice reform, and it is expected that both the House and the Senate will take up the issue now that Congress is back in session. Rumor has it that behind-the-scenes discussions are taking place to try to forge bipartisan, bicameral compromise on… -
news
In 12 Oklahoma Counties, Millions Seized From Property Owners Who Were Never Charged With Crimes
In Oklahoma, law enforcement agencies across 12 counties took $6 million in cash over a five-year span. Less than half of the money came from property owners who were charged with a crime. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma analyzed records regarding cash seizures that took place in a dozen counties along Interstate 40,… -
news
Will Government Officials Be Held Accountable for Kate Steinle’s Death? Her Family Filed a Lawsuit.
In an attempt to hold government officials accountable for the shooting death of their 32-year-old daughter Kate, the Steinle family filed a lawsuit against three government agencies. The suit alleges that those agencies are in part responsible for Steinle’s death, but experts say the family has little chance at prevailing. "Unfortunately, prior lawsuits against cities… -
opinion
Haiti Struggles to Restore Democracy and Fight Corruption
Haiti finally held legislative elections last month. As Jacky Charles of the Miami Herald reported, they were “violent” and “chaotic.” But at least they happened. President Michel Martelly, in office since 2011, has weakened Haiti’s fragmented institutions and heightened political instability. He is surrounded by a network of friends and aides who, according to the… -
opinion
This Government Jobs Program Is Ineffective, Ridden With Crime
A job training program for disadvantaged youth—sounds like a good thing. Except maybe when it is plagued by violent crime and doesn’t boost participants’ wages or help them secure full-time jobs. Each year, Congress spends in excess of $1.65 billion on Job Corps, even though Department of Labor research found years ago that Job Corps does… -
news
Friends, Colleagues Remember Murdered Reporter: She Was ‘Going to Rise to the Top’
Alison Parker, 24, was a “go-getter” who was “going to make it big” in broadcast journalism. But her life was cut short after she and Adam Ward, 27, were fatally shot early Wednesday morning during a live WDBJ broadcast at a shopping center in Moneta, Va., located just outside Roanoke. Both were journalists for the… -
opinion
How Should Sexual Assault Be Managed on Campus? Two Bills’ Different Approaches
There is no doubt that American colleges should be safe for all students. A recent University of Virginia case is any example, however, of the difficulty college communities often face dealing with those accused of crimes, as well as those who are victims. In the recent Virginia case, allegations of sexual assault were repeated in… -
opinion
‘Hide No Harm Act’ Won’t Improve Car Safety, Promotes Overcriminalization
At least fifteen people have died since 2005 due to defective ignition switches in General Motors cars. Congress can’t fix these tragedies, but this sure hasn’t stopped them from trying to legislate a response. General Motors CEO Mary Barra purportedly discovered a defect in some of their cars in January 2014 and issued recalls. After… -
opinion
Lois Lerner Claimed Lincoln Was Worst President. Why She’s Wrong.
Lerner, the former IRS official who is at the center of a scandal involving the targeting of conservative groups, claims in a newly-released email that Abraham Lincoln is the worst president in the nation’s history. In an email responding to a friend, Lerner wrote, “Look my view is that Lincoln was our worst president not… -
news
Martin O’Malley Says Criminal Justice Reform Would ‘Save and Redeem Lives’
GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa—Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley spoke at a small-town library here Friday afternoon saying he feels incarceration rates can be reduced in the U.S. by reforming the criminal justice system. O’Malley, a Democrat running for president, would like to make greater investments as a nation “to make sure people are represented in all…