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
Lois Lerner Won’t Be Facing Criminal Charges. Here Are the Problems With the ‘Investigation’ That Cleared Her.
In an eight-page letter last week to the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Justice Department informed Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that it was closing its investigation of the IRS targeting scandal, claiming there is not sufficient evidence to “seek any criminal charges” against Lois Lerner or any other IRS officials. However, there… -
news
Poll Reveals What Americans Fear the Most: Corruption of Government Officials
Chapman University in Orange, Calif., recently conducted its second annual survey on fears possessed by Americans in order to pinpoint what Americans fear the most. The fear that ranked the highest among Americans surveyed was corruption of government officials at 58 percent. Cyber-terrorism ranked second at 44.8 percent and corporate tracking of personal information was… -
news
San Francisco Passes Resolution Upholding Sanctuary Policies Despite Kate Steinle Murder
San Francisco officials declared Tuesday that the city’s sanctuary policies would remain intact, shutting down critics who blamed the protections for enabling the high profile murder of Kathryn Steinle by an illegal immigrant in July. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution that encourages the sheriff not to alert U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement… -
news
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Defends Man Charged With Criminal Vote Fraud
The original headline incorrectly described the person facing criminal charges. A client of Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa is facing 16 criminal charges of rigging votes in a Rio Grande Valley election. Lupe Rivera Sr. illegally handled ballots and envelopes in his closely contested Weslaco City Commission race, according to the state attorney general’s… -
news
Sanctuary Cities on the Rise, Releasing More Than 9,000 Criminals in US Illegally
The number of sanctuary cities in the United States has risen to 340, resulting in the release of roughly 1,000 detained illegal immigrants each month despite objections from the federal government, according to a new study. The Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit organization that advocates for decreased immigration, reported that local authorities acting in these… -
news
House Judiciary Rolls Out Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee stamped their mark on a criminal justice initiative to reform federal sentencing. With bipartisan signatures of support, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., says the committee has pursued “responsible, common sense reforms to ensure our criminal justice system reflects core American values.” Goodlatte and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich.,… -
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…