Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
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opinion
How Gillibrand’s Military Sexual Assault Legislation Could Hurt Victims
The good news is that the number of sexual assaults in the military is going down. According to the RAND Corporation’s recent study, there has been a 27 percent decrease. No doubt, that is a direct result of the comprehensive reforms to the military justice system put in place a couple of years ago by… -
news
Study: US Arresting Fewer Criminally Convicted Illegal Immigrants
The Center for Immigration Studies recently released a report stating that arrests of non-citizens who have been convicted of a crime decreased by 32 percent since this time last year. However, the Center for Immigration Studies says this does not indicate there are fewer criminally convicted illegal immigrants in the United States, but rather, the government… -
opinion
Why One of the Country’s Toughest Cops Says We’re Overcriminalizing America
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was known as one of America’s toughest crime fighters. Then, as he details in his new book, “From Jailer to Jailed,” Kerik found himself convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to four years behind bars. This experience has turned Kerik into an advocate for criminal justice reform…. -
news
In Wake of Freddie Gray’s Death, Baltimore Sees Record Month for Murders
May marked Baltimore’s deadliest month in more than 40 years as three men were fatally shot yesterday, bringing the month’s homicide toll to 43. The Baltimore Sun reported the two separate shootings Sunday—the first killing two men after they were fatally shot in the head, the second killing one man and leaving another injured after… -
opinion
Loretta Lynch Faces Her First Test as Attorney General
A decision earlier this month by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has given new Attorney General Loretta Lynch her first public test: Will she break from Eric Holder’s policies by enforcing voting rights law on a race-neutral basis, as Congress intended, or will she continue Holder’s non-neutral enforcement policy? For those who don’t remember, in… -
news
Senator Again Calls for Ending Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point
Comparing Operation Choke Point to Tom Cruise’s “Minority Report,” a film where police use “psychic technology” to arrest alleged murderers before they actually commit a crime, Sen. Mike Crapo today made another attempt to end the Justice Department’s controversial program. “To explain [Operation Choke Point], I want to remind everybody of a movie that came… -
opinion
Newly Passed Human Trafficking Bill Only a Start to What US Must Do to Combat Trafficking
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. If signed by the president, the bill would create a domestic fund for victims of child sex trafficking from fines levied against traffickers. Fines collected from traffickers will bolster local law enforcement training and capabilities, among other capacity building… -
opinion
Corruption Scandals Tarnish Chile’s Strong Rule of Law Reputation
With an overall score of 78.5, Chile remained the 7th freest economy in the world in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom and retained its rank as first in the Latin American and the Caribbean region. Beginning with the first edition of the Index in 1995, successive governments in Chile from the center-left and center-right… -
opinion
As Coast Guard Combats Drug Trafficking, Budget Shortfalls Linger
Following 19 interdictions along the Central and South American coasts, the crew of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell returned home on April 16 with over 28,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $424 million. Collectively, these busts are a significant accomplishment for the sea service; however, they only represent a portion of the… -
opinion
The Justice Department’s War on Texas’ Voter ID Law
On Tuesday, April 28, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller will be up before a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals again, his second appearance there in two weeks. But this time, instead of arguing over the unconstitutionality of President Obama’s immigration amnesty plan, he will be arguing that the Texas voter ID… -
opinion
A Flawed Legal Analysis Is Helping Lois Lerner
On March 31, Ronald Machen, the outgoing U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote House Speaker John Boehner to inform him that the Justice Department would not present Lois Lerner’s contempt citation to a federal grand jury. The letter explaining his decision is an exercise in misdirection—the kind of misdirection that magicians use to… -
opinion
The Palestinians Have Officially Joined the International Criminal Court. What the US Should Do.
The International Criminal Court, the first permanent international court established to try and punish individuals committing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, now counts the Palestinians among its members. Earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority announced their intent to accede to the Statute of the International Criminal Court and officially… -
news
A Woman Accused of Removing a 7-Month Baby From a Mother’s Womb Is Not Being Charged With Murder. Why That Has Sparked a Legal Debate.
The decision not to charge a Colorado woman with murder for the death of an unborn 7-month-old baby has reinvigorated a debate over when states should legally recognize a fetus as a human being. Dynel Lane, the woman accused of cutting and removing a 7-month-old baby from a mother’s body, will not face murder charges,… -
news
Russia Sends Nuclear-Capable Bombers to Crimea
KYIV, Ukraine—As NATO and Russia simultaneously launch military exercises stretching from Eastern Europe into the Arctic, Russian defense officials said this week that supersonic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be deployed to Crimea. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Tupolev TU-22M3 strategic bombers will be positioned in the former Ukrainian territory as… -
news
The Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Pictures, One Year After Crimea’s Annexation
KYIV, Ukraine—Monday marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a former Ukrainian territory. Russia’s takeover of Crimea is an ongoing source of tension between Russia and Ukraine, and a potential flash point for escalating the nearly year-old war in eastern Ukraine. The United States and other NATO countries have labeled Russia’s move to… -
opinion
The Justice Department Is Giving Away Your Money (Without Your Permission)
For the past decade, the U.S. Justice Department has engaged in the dubious practice of giving away the public’s money when it settles a case, by sometimes conditioning a settlement on a company’s agreement to donate money to a third-party of the government’s (or the defendant’s) choosing. For example, the Justice Department settled cases last… -
news
Justice Department Takes Credit for Second Operation Choke Point Settlement
The Daily Signal has reported multiple cases where innocent small business owners believe they were unfairly targeted by the Justice Department’s controversial initiative known as Operation Choke Point. Now, the agency it touting a case it says it got right. On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it reached a $4.9 million settlement with CommerceWest Bank… -
opinion
Meet the 19th Century American Who Warned About Big Government, Religious Liberty Assaults
2015 marks a milestone in American history. One hundred and fifty years ago, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant and ended the Civil War. Shortly thereafter, Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803-1876), a prominent journalist and philosopher, published “The American Republic,” an erudite defense of the Federal Constitution. As noted in our… -
opinion
Government and Societal Action Critical for Fighting Human Trafficking
“We can change all the laws we want—but until we change the attitudes and respect for human beings, all this work is for nothing,” said Cindy McCain, head of the McCain Institute’s Human Trafficking Advisory Council, at a recent panel discussion at The Heritage Foundation. Heritage’s Lisa Curtis chaired a panel of experts including Cindy… -
opinion
Supreme Court Justices Agree: Overcriminalization Is a Problem in America
On Wednesday, a closely-divided Supreme Court issued a decision holding that tossing a few undersized fish back into the ocean from a boat is not the same thing as shredding a document. While that might be common sense for some, there was a serious legal debate whether a fisherman should be prosecuted under a law…