Police Technology and Surveillance
License Plate Readers: How Police Track Vehicle Movements
Where the law allows, police can save a car’s location even when its plate matches none of the vehicles they are looking for. License plate readers…
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement is the work of preventing, investigating, and responding to crime, and the agencies that do it. Local police and sheriffs, state agencies, and federal agencies each have their own authority. Public questions center on what officers may do, how they are trained and checked, and who holds them accountable.
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5topics
October 9last updated
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Latest in Law Enforcement
Police Accountability and Oversight
How Federal Agents Are Investigated When They Kill U.S. Citizens
Two Americans are dead, shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis seventeen days apart. Renée Nicole Good, 37, mother of three, killed by an ICE agent…
Use of Force
The Fourth Amendment Rules ICE Must Follow—And What Happens When They Don’t
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot Renée Good three times through her windshield in south Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. She was 37 and sitting…
Police Accountability and Oversight
How DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Normally Investigates Police Shootings
On January 7, 2026, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good during an immigration operation in Minneapolis. Within days, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced…
Topics in Law Enforcement
Agencies and daily work
Police Agencies and Operations covers the local, state, and federal organizations that enforce criminal law. Police Practices covers the methods officers use, such as stops, searches, and questioning.
Force and technology
Use of Force covers the authority of officers to physically control people. Police Technology and Surveillance covers the cameras, databases, and tracking tools used to watch and identify people.
Oversight and change
Police Accountability and Oversight covers how officers and departments are investigated and held responsible. Police Training and Reform covers how officers learn the job and how that learning is changed.
All Articles on Law Enforcement
How ICE Use-of-Force Rules Differ From Other Federal Agencies
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman during an operation in Minneapolis last week. ICE operates under its own use-of-force…
What Oversight Exists When Federal Agents Shoot Civilians
On January 7, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. At least four separate…
What Legal Protections Apply When Federal Agents Use Deadly Force?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross fired three shots through the driver's side window of a red Honda Pilot in south Minneapolis on…
Do Sanctuary Policies Work?
The question of whether sanctuary policies "make a difference" is being tested in federal courtrooms, city budget hearings, and neighborhood streets across the nation.…
How Federal Agencies Hunt Dangerous Fugitives
When a high-profile crime shocks the nation, the clock starts ticking. In the chaotic hours after an attack, a massive machine of federal, state,…
Addressing Political Violence: Lessons from the 1960s
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, sent shockwaves through a nation already fractured by political…
How States Catch Criminals Across Borders
Few sections of the Constitution are as practical and consequential in their daily application as Article IV. While other articles establish the grand structures…
Fentanyl in America: How a Medical Drug Became a National Crisis
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid of extraordinary potency, stands at the center of an unprecedented public health crisis in the United States. Originally developed for…
How the DEA’s War on Pill Mills Changed America’s Drug Crisis
The United States opioid crisis was officially declared a Public Health Emergency in 2017, but its roots stretch back to the late 1990s. This…
Trump’s 2025 Takeover of D.C. Police, Explained
On August 11, 2025, President Donald Trump announced an unprecedented federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard.…