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They Agreed to Meet Their Mother's Killer. Then Tragedy Struck Again.

Eli Hager

July 21, 2020 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville’s prosecutor began a unique experiment in using restorative justice dialogue in murder cases, seeking to help survivors learn the full truth of a crime in ways a traditional trial would not provide. In return for an honest dialogue with the people they harmed, defendants could win more lenient sentences. But in one case the tactic failed in a way that added to the survivors’ pain and ended the program altogether. Restorative dialogue has been shown to help victims, mainly when used after a conviction or for less serious crimes.

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How Taiwan beat the coronavirus

Christina Farr

July 15, 2020 |

CNBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Taiwan

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Taiwan – a country of nearly 24 million people – has reported less than 500 cases and only seven deaths, largely due to the rapid implementation of a public health emergency response plan. By successfully using a combination of quarantine measures, social pressure, technology, and consistent communication, the country was able to begin reopening in May.

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Reducing harm in Santa Cruz County law enforcement

Stephen Baxter

July 15, 2020 |

Santa Cruz Local |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Santa Cruz, California

The city of Santa Cruz is considering adopting a crisis-intervention strategy used in Eugene, Oregon, after two fatal police shootings of people suffering a mental health crises prompted questions about how an alternative to police-only responses would work. To follow the model pioneered by Eugene's CAHOOTS agency, where unarmed professionals respond first, Santa Cruz authorities would have many safety, budget, training, and other logistical concerns to address. But Santa Cruz seems primed to try the CAHOOTS approach, which rarely requires police involvement when 911 calls are screened properly.

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How to Get Contact Tracing Right

Ellie Vance

July 14, 2020 |

Washington Monthly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

During the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, early efforts at contact tracing by different states in the U.S. proved successful when they relied on people instead of applications or software, which showed high rates of failure since people didn't seem to want to participate or download the applications. New York state relied on human contact tracers, specifically those who lived in the neighborhoods they track. "The city’s initiative has shown early success: As of June 16, it had reached 94% of all new positive cases."

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Why Haven't Sexual-Assault Statistics Improved?

Emily Kelleher

July 13, 2020 |

The 61% Project |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Colleges and universities, required to educate students and staff about sexual assault prevention, use thousands of courses and programs, hardly any of which have been shown to be effective. Campus sexual assaults have continued to rise while the education industry flourishes. While there is no single gold-standard program, one with the best evidence of effectiveness is Flip the Script, or Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act. It is based on teaching women to overcome mental barriers to recognizing risk posed by acquaintances. High costs and time commitments have kept enrollment low, despite proof it works.

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Could This City Hold the Key to the Future of Policing in America?

Joseph Goldstein Kevin Armstrong

July 12, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Although driven by financial desperation and a desire to break a union, Camden, New Jersey’s decision to dismantle its police department and form a new one focused more on limiting its use of force has paid off in better community relations and arguably a role in reducing the city’s violence. Its approach is in high demand by other cities facing the same problems Camden confronted. At the same time, the reconstituted police force is faulted by critics for relying on intrusive surveillance and making racially disparate arrests for minor offenses.

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The US has a lot to learn from Taiwan's Covid fight

Lanhee Chen

July 10, 2020 |

CNN |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Taiwan

When reports of a coronavirus were reported in China, officials in Taiwan wasted no time implementing a plan of action to control the spread within their own region. Having learned from the SARS outbreak of 2003, authorities were prepared to respond to a public health crisis and quickly implemented a transparent and coordinated effort that prioritized testing, contact tracing and isolation.

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How do you (safely) catch a falling bear?

Hannah Weinberger

July 07, 2020 |

Crosscut |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

After a failed removal attempt of a bear cub from a tree, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for North Puget Sound decided they needed a new high-strength tarp. With a reported increase in the number of wildlife sightings, the one net they had in stock for the six-county region wasn’t always easy to deploy. So they secured funding for a tailor-made catch net that could be used for both cougar and bear removals.

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They envisioned a world without police. Inside Seattle's CHOP zone, protesters struggled to make it real

Elle Reeve Samantha Guff

July 06, 2020 |

CNN |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

The police-free zone that emerged during Seattle's protests in June 2020 was meant to demonstrate how safety could be provided by the community itself. But the six-square-block area, called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) and then Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), devolved into chaos and deadly violence thanks in part to the inability of organizers and their security team to keep armed people from committing violence. When fistfights turned into multiple shootings, and an ambulance crew could not reach a shooting victim, who died, police finally moved in and cleared the area.

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Police reformers push for de-escalation training, but the jury is out on its effectiveness

Erin Schumaker

July 02, 2020 |

ABC News (American Broadcasting Company) |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Teaching police de-escalation tactics to avoid the use of force in a crisis is a popular suggestion in the police-reform debate, but a number of structural deficits make success a great unknown. Before police departments embrace the concept, they must first realize there has been no rigorous testing of any particular training regimen for effectiveness, nor do any national standards on use of force exist. Police training and the definition of de-escalation tactics are both highly fractured, lacking common definitions based on proven effectiveness.

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