Keep Breaking the Law: Your Government Needs the Money

By Will Swaim
09/29/2016
My colleague Matt Smith recently observed that Huntington Beach is following the model of Ferguson, Missouri: raising fines on misdemeanors in order to generate more revenue for a cash-strapped city. The Department of Justice found that strategy was a contributing factor to rioting that followed the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson on August...

TAGS: Department of Justice

Unfunded Pension Costs Driving Huntington Beach to Become More Like Ferguson, MO

By Matt Smith
09/29/2016
It’s been 19 months since the U.S. Department of Justice released its scathing report on the Ferguson Police Department. Chief among the DOJ’s findings: Ferguson’s law enforcement practices were “shaped by the city’s focus on revenue rather than public safety needs.” Nearly every policing activity – including tickets, misdemeanor fines and court fees – was...

TAGS: Department of Justice