Justice and Public Safety

Last week, Hamilton City Council in Ohio unanimously passed legislation to ban residents from using drones to harass and spy on other citizens. However, drone supporters felt the law was too broad.

Researchers say just seeing the algorithm’s risk predictions about an arrestee could change how judges weigh pretrial decisions, prompting them to put more priority on risk than they would otherwise.

Regulators are going after the cryptocurrency industry, which generates trillions of dollars. Crypto firms are seeking lobbyist support in Washington, D.C., as legal arguments reach a higher boiling point.

The Ellwood City Council in Pennsylvania voted in favor of installing seven traffic cameras at key intersections. The cameras will also be connected to a larger county surveillance system.

Plus, Bloomberg Philanthropies teams with the U.S. Conference of Mayors on new federal recovery dollars partnership, and more.

Naperville, Ill., rolled out a text-to-911 option this week. Officials advise citizens to only use the service if a phone call can't be made. No pictures or videos can be delivered with the service at this time.

The Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff's Department and corrections officers will soon be equipped with body-worn cameras after the Board of Supervisors approved a $26.6 million contract to fund the devices Tuesday.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has this week released an update on telecommunications companies’ progress in implementing the Anti-Robocall Principles, which they signed onto in 2019.

Drivers for food delivery companies like Grubhub can seek potentially huge penalties against the companies for refusing to treat them as employees before passage of a ballot measure last November.

The Rand Corporation released a report suggesting that the U.S. military should use artificial intelligence to examine social media trends to determine whether any military members are at risk of becoming extremists.

The latest product from the growing government technology vendor reflects advances in connecting multiple agencies. RapidSOS says the tool could increase access to real-time data and speed up emergency responses.

The Roseville Police Department will begin equipping officers with body-worn cameras to enhance law enforcement transparency, Police Chief Troy Bergstrom said in an announcement Wednesday.

The Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services has implemented a fleet management software to monitor its vehicles. The cloud-based technology helps the agency oversee critical operations from any location.

Coral Springs is about to become the latest Florida city to deploy surveillance cameras on objects like traffic light poles. The city will start off with 10 cameras and continue to add to the system.

The annual effort helps firms access expertise and other resources, which in turn can lead to better tools for local and state governments. Among the areas of focus are benefits programs and bodycam video management.

A Florida judge has ruled that a Costco website doesn’t violate user privacy with tracking software and that the situation is not akin to being illegally wiretapped. Other cases have received similar rulings recently.

The city of Brownsville, Texas, gets many complaints from frustrated drivers about how out of sync its red light system is. Now the city is collecting data from traffic detectors so that traffic flow can be improved.

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, political leaders made a number of changes to how homeland security is maintained. Some experts say these changes are still having negative effects on people's rights.