What To Know Today
The FBI isn’t releasing midyear national crime statistics because not enough agencies submitted data. Just 43 percent of eligible law enforcement departments sent in crime data through the National Incident-Based Reporting System, according to crime analyst Jeff Asher, who spotted the latest submissions. It was the second straight quarter that the bureau did not release a national picture on crime because it fell short of its 60 percent reporting threshold. Growing pains of a new system? Part of the issue likely stems from a change in how police agencies report data. For years, law enforcement submitted their data to the FBI using both NIBRS and the Summary Reporting System. In late 2020, the FBI said it would only accept agencies enrolled in NIBRS, which criminologists say offers a more detailed and transparent picture of crime than the SRS. The problem, as experts forecasted ahead of the move, is that far fewer agencies use NIBRS and that currently precludes data from huge cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York City. Ominous signs: “When the FBI releases the raw data for 2021 crime in a little over a year from now we’ll likely have zero data from the biggest agencies and be missing data from about half of all agencies,” tweeted Princeton criminologist Jacob Kaplan.
House committees include $5B for community violence intervention in final budget text. The money is split evenly between the Judiciary and the Energy and Commerce Committees. Yesterday, committees finished marking up the massive budget bill that congressional Democrats are attempting to pass using reconciliation. The committee work clears a big hurdle ahead of a full House vote on the final bill. Fund Peace — a coalition of Black- and brown-led groups who have pushed for the funding, praised the inclusion of the money in a statement: “Today’s votes are the first step in actualizing this lifesaving funding and means we are that much closer to getting this funding into the streets, to the people that need it most.”
Officials in another area are recovering more devices that can mimic machine gun fire. Auto sears allow a gun to fire automatically, and law enforcement is increasingly finding them in the Twin Cities. “We are encountering them more frequently than in the past,” Jeff Reed, assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s field office in St. Paul, told a Minnesota CBS affiliate. “Some of the devices are very easily attached to a firearm or a weapons platform, sometimes in 60 seconds. Last week, The Washington Post reported on a similar spike noted by police and ATF officials in Washington, D.C.
Police prepare for “Justice for January 6” rally — but reports predict low turnout. A rally scheduled for September 18 in support of people charged over the Capitol insurrection has Capitol Police reinstalling a temporary fence around the U.S. Capitol. The agency said it was also “aware of concerning online chatter,” including about people wanting to avenge the woman fatally shot by Capitol Police on January 6. A no-show? Parsing far-right sites like TheDonald and 4chan, NBC News reports that many users are warning people to stay away, claiming it is a government trap, even as message boards remain full of violent rhetoric. Separately, a top Department of Homeland Security official said she expects just 700 rally-goers on Saturday, compared to tens of thousands last January 6.
New York announces $23.7 million to fight community gun violence. The grants, announced by Governor Kathy Hochul, will go to jobs and training programs in cities most affected by gun violence ($16 million); after-school and weekend programs for young people in high-risk communities ($5.7 million); and training dozens of new violence interrupters ($2 million.) “We have to give young people hope and let them know their lives have meaning,” Hochul said.
Data Point
50 percent — the increase in gunshot injuries at pediatric trauma centers in Houston since 2020. Similar trends have been seen across the country, including in Hartford, Connecticut, Fort Worth, and Memphis, according to a new article. [Time]
