Law Enforcement

Gun Cases Are Notoriously Hard to Make Stick. New York Thinks It Has the Answer.

How We Fix This

Gun Cases Are Notoriously Hard to Make Stick. New York Thinks It Has the Answer.

The city has launched an ambitious program to collect DNA from every gun recovered by police. But questions remain about effectiveness, and cost.

Ann Givens and Robert Lewis
When Police Fail to Solve Homicides, Families Carry the Weight

Law Enforcement

When Police Fail to Solve Homicides, Families Carry the Weight

Four young men were fatally shot. Their killers haven't been caught. Their mothers suffer.

Francesca Mirabile
U.S. Capitol Police Undergo Extensive Active-Shooter Training

Law Enforcement

U.S. Capitol Police Undergo Extensive Active-Shooter Training

"You’re prepared for any situation that comes up."

Sean Campbell and Brian Freskos
Jeff Sessions Says Renewing the War on Drugs Will Also Reduce Violent Crime. Experts Aren’t So Sure.

Law Enforcement

Jeff Sessions Says Renewing the War on Drugs Will Also Reduce Violent Crime. Experts Aren’t So Sure.

Stepped-up narcotics arrests can actually lead to more violence.

Danielle Tcholakian
Meet the Hardliner Jeff Sessions Picked to Carry Out His Violent Crime Crackdown

Criminal Justice

Meet the Hardliner Jeff Sessions Picked to Carry Out His Violent Crime Crackdown

Steve Cook, a former federal prosecutor, fiercely supports controversial policies calling for lengthy prison sentences.

Dan Friedman
ATF Executive Pitches a More Gun Industry-Friendly Bureau

Law Enforcement

ATF Executive Pitches a More Gun Industry-Friendly Bureau

Former officials say the memo could be a pitch for the agency's top job.

Alex Yablon and Ann Givens
Police Groups to Trump: Here’s How You Can ‘Send in the Feds,’ and Actually Make a Dent in Urban Crime

Law Enforcement

Police Groups to Trump: Here’s How You Can ‘Send in the Feds,’ and Actually Make a Dent in Urban Crime

Law enforcement leaders recommend more money for the ATF, stricter gun laws, and sharper focus on the "alarming recent trend of increasing homicides and shootings" in major U.S. cities.

Miles Kohrman
Trump’s Promised Crackdown on Gun Crimes Is Coming Into Focus

Criminal Justice

Trump’s Promised Crackdown on Gun Crimes Is Coming Into Focus

His attorney general nominee pledges to increase federal firearms prosecutions — but tools for nabbing traffickers will remain lacking.

Nora Biette-Timmons
The Chicago PD’s Top Tech Officer Is Betting on Sensors and Smartphones to Help Curb Shootings

Law Enforcement

The Chicago PD’s Top Tech Officer Is Betting on Sensors and Smartphones to Help Curb Shootings

“These tools are not replacing people,” says Deputy Chief Jonathan Lewin, “but they improve our capacity to do our job."

Ann Givens
As Chicago’s Bloody 2016 Concludes, Task Force Proposes Steps for Curbing Shootings

Law Enforcement

As Chicago’s Bloody 2016 Concludes, Task Force Proposes Steps for Curbing Shootings

“These are things that don’t cost money, and that just make sense,” Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin said.

Ann Givens
Ambush Shootings of Police Officers Reach Highest Total in Decades

Law Enforcement

Ambush Shootings of Police Officers Reach Highest Total in Decades

Doubling up on patrols and donning body armor, cops are taking precautions that could complicate crime prevention and community relations.

Ann Givens
He Terrorized His Lebanese Neighbors for Years Before Shooting One of Them to Death. Why Was He Able to Keep His Gun?

Law Enforcement

He Terrorized His Lebanese Neighbors for Years Before Shooting One of Them to Death. Why Was He Able to Keep His Gun?

A protective order did not save Khalid Jabara.

Brian Freskos
I Was a Crisis Negotiator for 23 Years. Here’s What It’s Like to Talk Down an Armed Hostage Taker.

Law Enforcement

I Was a Crisis Negotiator for 23 Years. Here’s What It’s Like to Talk Down an Armed Hostage Taker.

Gary Noesner, the former chief of the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit, on the virtues of self-control and active listening.

Kerry Shaw
The ATF Inspected Fewer Gun Dealers Last Year Than at Any Time in the Past Decade

Data

The ATF Inspected Fewer Gun Dealers Last Year Than at Any Time in the Past Decade

More than 130,000 sellers weren’t visited at all.

Alex Yablon
The Wonk’s Guide to What Works, and What Doesn’t, When Policing Violent Crime

Law Enforcement

The Wonk’s Guide to What Works, and What Doesn’t, When Policing Violent Crime

A review of evidence-based strategies for addressing America’s violent crime epidemic can help cities move past knee-jerk responses — and focus on proven solutions.

Mark Obbie

Law Enforcement

Gun Cases Are Notoriously Hard to Make Stick. New York Thinks It Has the Answer.

When Police Fail to Solve Homicides, Families Carry the Weight

U.S. Capitol Police Undergo Extensive Active-Shooter Training

Jeff Sessions Says Renewing the War on Drugs Will Also Reduce Violent Crime. Experts Aren’t So Sure.

Meet the Hardliner Jeff Sessions Picked to Carry Out His Violent Crime Crackdown

ATF Executive Pitches a More Gun Industry-Friendly Bureau

Police Groups to Trump: Here’s How You Can ‘Send in the Feds,’ and Actually Make a Dent in Urban Crime

Trump’s Promised Crackdown on Gun Crimes Is Coming Into Focus

The Chicago PD’s Top Tech Officer Is Betting on Sensors and Smartphones to Help Curb Shootings

As Chicago’s Bloody 2016 Concludes, Task Force Proposes Steps for Curbing Shootings

Ambush Shootings of Police Officers Reach Highest Total in Decades

He Terrorized His Lebanese Neighbors for Years Before Shooting One of Them to Death. Why Was He Able to Keep His Gun?

I Was a Crisis Negotiator for 23 Years. Here’s What It’s Like to Talk Down an Armed Hostage Taker.

The ATF Inspected Fewer Gun Dealers Last Year Than at Any Time in the Past Decade

The Wonk’s Guide to What Works, and What Doesn’t, When Policing Violent Crime