More in U.S. are Getting Away with Murder
from The Associated Press via the Boston Herald
Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other "CSI"-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in the United States are getting away with murder. FBI figures obtained by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 -- the first year records were kept in the manner they are now -- to 61 percent in 2007. More

Video: Forensic Hypnosis - A Tool of the Trade
from KWES-TV
It's a technique you might expect at a spa, not the local jail house, but for more than 20 years Sheriff Gary Painter says forensic hypnosis is a tool used to solve crimes. "It's a very good tool," Captain Rory Mckinney, who took the course in Huntsville last month, said. "There are a lot of things people see and don't remember." McKinney is now one of three in the Midland County Sheriff's Office, licensed to perform investigative hypnosis. More

Major Psychiatric Disorders Linked to Multiple Incarcerations
from MedWire News
Prison inmates with major psychiatric disorders, particularly those with bipolar disorders, are at markedly increased risk for multiple incarcerations compared with other inmates, say U.S. researchers. Half of all inmates in the U.S. have at least one mental health condition, and 15–24 percent have a severe mental illness. Despite the magnitude of this public health crisis, few studies have examined the links between psychiatric disorders and recidivism. More

L.A. County Sheriff's Department Exchange Guns for Gifts
from The Associated Press
A program to exchange guns for gifts brought in a record number of weapons this year as residents hit hard by the economy look under the bed and in closets to find items to trade for groceries. With the annual Gifts for Guns program, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department allows residents to anonymously relinquish firearms in return for $100 gift cards for Ralphs supermarkets, Target department stores or Best Buy electronics stores. More

Vest Saves Arizona Sheriff Shot by Motorist
from The Associated Press
An attacker aimed a shotgun at the face of a county sheriff, but the officer deflected the weapon before it fired and was saved by his bulletproof vest, authorities said Tuesday. No arrests had been made. Graham County, Ariz., Sheriff Frank Hughes was shot in the chest late Monday after he stopped along a rural road north of Thatcher to help a driver whose vehicle was pulled over with either its trunk or hood open, said Tim Graver, a commander in the sheriff's office. More

'Shop with a Cop' Brings 322 Smiles to Local Youth
from The Deming Headlight
Holiday shopping topped the morning last weekend in the 13th annual 'Shop with a Cop' program. Youngsters, selected by members of the Luna County, N.M., Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement and emergency service workers, walked the aisles, buying toys, sporting goods, electronics, clothes and food. Local businesses and private donations to the program totaled nearly $12,000, and 332 of the expected 350 children waited patiently for a $25 shopping card with which to shop. More

Law Officers Invest in Pre-k to Lift Graduation Rates
from the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Mark Rogers, state director for the nonprofit Fight Crime: Invest in Kids effort, would like to see the Tennessee legislature increase spending for pre-k, but more realistically he hopes the programs maintain their current $83 million annual state allocation. That amount is matched by local businesses, nonprofit organizations or school systems, he said. Rogers travels the state, garnering support from police chiefs, sheriffs and district attorneys, among others, to lobby for legislative support. More

Albuquerque, N.M., Police's 'Snitches' Ad Draws Tips, Criticism
from USA Today
In the city that launched the national crime-stoppers movement -- which pays informants for tips that help police solve local crimes – Albuquerque, N.M., detectives are taking the idea one controversial step further. The Albuquerque Police Department put a want ad in the city's weekly newspaper for "people that hang out with crooks to do part-time work." More

Connecticut Embraces Faith-Based Programs for Ex-Cons, Homeless
from the Hartford Courant
Connecticut has embraced faith-based services, one of the initiatives to come out of the Bush administration after it created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2001. Eleven federal agencies took up the charge, making federal money and support more accessible to faith-based and community organizations. Although Connecticut officials champion the idea, saying it has improved access to treatment for thousands of people who might not have succeeded in traditional substance abuse programs, the practice of giving taxpayer money to religious organizations is hardly without critics. More

Sex Offenders Try to Erase Laws Marking Them for Life
from the San Antonio Express-News
An unlikely political force, which dubs itself Texas Voices, is vowing to fight Texas' — and the nation's — sweeping registration laws. The group believes community notification laws fail to protect the public because they don't distinguish dangerous predators from otherwise harmless men and women who foolishly had sex with underage lovers, served their sentences and don't need a lifetime of public scrutiny. While Texas Voices hasn't yet turned anyone away, the group targets its message at those who committed non-violent offenses that didn't involve young children. More