The Weekly Briefing
Curated News for Public Safety
RETURN TO BROKEN WINDOWS – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Thursday the creation of a new NYPD Quality of Life Division. "We will not tolerate an atmosphere of any- and everything goes," Adams said. "We are going to have a city that's clean and safe. The Quality of Life Division will begin operation next Monday with a pilot program in five precincts and one housing PSA area." The new division will combine existing NYPD community roles like neighborhood coordination officers, youth coordination officers, and traffic safety officers into specialized "Q-Teams" to address quality of life problems in those communities like noise violations, abandoned vehicles, homeless encampments and outdoor drug use. "Issues like illegal vending, substance use, abandoned vehicles, illegal mopeds and reckless driving, and more have persisted for far too long, and we want to ensure that we continue to move our city in the right direction," Adams said. "It erodes our sense of public safety, and New Yorkers have had enough," Tisch said.
MORE: Adams said that, along with the new division, the NYPD is also launching Q-Stat, a program modeled after CompStat, which tracks crimes and uses the data to adjust police deployment. It will track 311 complaints the way CompStat tracks major crimes. "We are going to use the same recipe for success this time to address quality of life issues. Q-Stat will help us track and tackle quality of life issues using real-time data and deployment," Adams said.
ENABLING CRIME – Senior UK police officers have called for the government to ban children under 16 from social media, amid claims the platforms are “fuelling and enabling” crime. In the most recent development in the moral panic that has gripped the media since Netflix’s Adolescence was released, four of the most senior policing figures in the country told the Times that further controls on social media platforms were necessary for public safety, national security and young people’s mental health. Sarah Crew, chief constable of Avon and Somerset and the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on rape and serious sexual offences, told the Times that social media platforms were putting children at risk of exploitation and abuse. “Young people are by their nature vulnerable, and this gives those perpetrators who would want to do harm a really direct channel,” she said.
DOGE TARGETS DHS – Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is expected to take aim at the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days, seeking potentially major cuts to personnel across its agencies, including the US Secret Service, multiple sources tell CNN. DHS is bracing for what could amount to significant layoffs, four sources familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to speak freely told CNN, though no final decisions have been made, and the ultimate scale and scope has not been set. This week, two of the sources said, there was back-and-forth negotiation and lobbying between DOGE, the White House, and Homeland Security leadership, with each of the department’s components expected to be impacted differently. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is expected to be decimated, one of the sources said.
WITHHOLDING FEDERAL FUNDING – During President Trump’s first months in office, officials in his administration have used the threat of withholding federal funding to bend institutions and municipalities to their ideological will. That strategy shows no signs of abating. The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing billions of dollars in grants for cities and states to make sure recipients comply with Mr. Trump’s priorities on immigration enforcement and diversity programs. Now grant beneficiaries must “honor requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information or requests for short-term detention of an alien pursuant to a valid detainer,” according to the terms and conditions for grants distributed by the department. The terms and conditions, which were first released last October and quietly updated in late March, also mandate that those who receive grants “will provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien.”
FOOT PURSUIT POLICY – The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) has released General Order 614 – Foot Pursuits, a newly created agency policy that focuses on the department’s commitment to safe and innovative apprehension tactics with the goal of both officer and public safety. As part of this effort, the Department has also launched a public-facing dashboard that tracks foot pursuit data in real time—demonstrating the department’s continued leadership in transparency and accountability. FCPD is one of only a few law enforcement agencies in the country to implement a formal foot pursuit policy, ensuring clear guidelines are formalized for its officers who engage in these unpredictable events while reflecting leading-industry best practices.
MORE: In early 2023, FCPD began collecting and analyzing foot pursuit data and the findings have been overwhelmingly positive, showing a high apprehension rate and low rates of injuries, while demonstrating both the safety and effectiveness of officer tactics used in pursuit. This data-informed approach helped provide the foundation for development of the new policy, which reflects the exemplary daily work of FCPD officers, the necessity of apprehending both criminal suspects and individuals in need of immediate mental health resources, and the department’s commitment to transparency.
NATIONAL GUARD IN ABQ – The Albuquerque Police Department has provided more details on just how many guardsmen will be used and what roles they will fill to assist officers after the governor declared a crime-related emergency in the city. APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Friday that 60 members of the New Mexico National Guard will fulfill non-law enforcement duties for the department starting in mid-May. Of those deployed, 36 will help secure scenes and perimeters during incidents and investigations, 12 will help operate drones for the Real Time Crime Center, and 12 will work with the Prisoner Transport Center to “help evidence collection and other tasks that often delay officers from returning to the field for patrol.” The guardsmen will not be armed or wearing fatigues, and they will not have law enforcement authority, according to APD and the NMNG.
SHOOTING INTO NYSP BARRACKS – On Wednesday, around 1:43 p.m., police inside the Saratoga barracks said they heard gunfire originating from outside the station. Troopers immediately responded to the threat and found David Levine standing in the parking lot, armed with a long gun. Police instructed Levine to drop the firearm, but police said he refused to follow multiple commands and aimed the gun in the troopers' direction. The troopers fired their division-issued firearms, fatally striking him. Investigators confirmed that Levine had fired several rounds into the occupied State Police Barracks. Multiple body-worn cameras captured the incident, but officials said the footage wouldn't be released while the investigation was still active.
SHOT AND KILLED DATA – According to the National FOP, during the first quarter of 2025, 84 law enforcement officers have been shot in the line of duty—a 17% decrease from this point in 2024 and a 13% drop from 2023. Ten officers have been killed by gunfire so far this year, holding steady with last year's toll but down 10% from 2023. The deadliest year to date remains 2024 (tied with 2022), with 101 officers shot through the first quarter. So far in 2025, there have been 17 ambush-style attacks resulting in 20 officers shot, five of them fatally.
TRAFFIC-RELATED DEATHS – According to the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), during the first quarter of 2025, six law enforcement officers were killed in traffic-related incidents, including two automobile crashes, two motorcycle crashes, and two struck-by-vehicle fatalities. This represents a significant decrease compared to the same period in 2024, when 26 officers died in traffic-related incidents, comprising 15 automobile crashes, two motorcycle crashes, and nine struck-by fatalities. The 2024 figures marked a 136% increase from the first quarter of 2023, which saw 11 traffic-related officer deaths.
INVESTING IN LEADERSHIP – A $15 million gift will establish a five-year leadership academy for Chicago police officers, the latest philanthropic effort by the city’s top civic and business leaders to reduce violent crime. The academy, which would be the first in the nation for a major police department, would focus on giving targeted training to officers when they’re promoted into leadership roles within the department, making sure they know how to make data-informed decisions, collaborate with the local community and maintain officer morale and accountability.
MORE: The (University of Chicago) Crime Lab will oversee the initiative, and plans to bring in national police training experts and professors from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. It will make the materials open source, meaning other police departments can eventually use them for free. The gift builds on the past efforts of the Crime Lab: In 2022 it established a national police safety academy with a $25 million donation from Citadel billionaire Ken Griffin, and $2.5 million donation from GCM Grosvenor Chief Executive Michael Sacks. Griffin also gave $10 million in 2018 to help the department analyze gunshot data.
PREVENTING DOXING – Calgary Police Service members are “encouraged” to provide their name to the public, but only when an officer wants to, under new rules. Part of a 12-month pilot program, the change is meant to improve the safety of Calgary police members and reduce the potential for “doxing,” where private information is released publicly with malintent, according to the service. Officers in the Calgary police public safety unit and downtown street engagement team are now allowed to wear only their regimental (badge) number, and will no longer be required to wear their name. “These members most commonly deal with protests where the risk of being doxed is increased,” said CPS in a statement. “If asked by a member of public can decide if they wish to provide their name — depending on the circumstances.”
OFFICER DOWN – Wood County (TX) Deputy Sheriff Melissa Pollard was killed when her cruiser collided with the back of a semi-truck. Deputy Sheriff Pollard succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. The driver of the semi-truck was not injured.