Thorat & Associate's

Congressional Democrats are rolling out sweeping police reform legislation Monday after nearly two weeks of protests over George Floyd’s killing. The proposed Justice in Policing Act of 2020 includes measures aimed at boosting law enforcement accountability, changing police practices and curbing racial profiling,  the Washington Post reports. “Persistent, unchecked bias in policing and a history of lack of accountability is wreaking havoc on the Black community,” reads a draft, which lists Floyd’s name along with those of other African Americans killed in encounters with officers. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA). Some Republicans have expressed support for legislation to rein in police violence, but it remains to be seen whether they will support elements of the proposal offered by the Demo...

photo by whitecollar global panorama via Flickr The COVID-19 economic shutdown is expected to lead to an upsurge in white-collar crimes, from the immediate problem of price-gouging personal protective equipment to insider trading on companies slammed by the crisis, to accounting fraud, said a panel of experts convened last week by the University of Maryland. “This crisis has the potential for affecting companies across the board,” said Bridget Rohde, the former Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York as well as Chief Assistant United States Attorney, Special Counsel and Chief of the Criminal Division. “So much of the economy has been negatively affected, with businesses being basically shuttered and workers at home, and trying to eke out some portion of what they were doing but clearly not at full capacity. “There’s going to be an awful lot of companies and a lot of different industries having trouble meeting their numbers.” Bridget Rohde Some of th...

The perception of police by whites has dropped by double digits in just one week, as police continue to target peaceful protesters, bystanders and journalists amid nationwide demonstrations focusing on systemic racism facing blacks, reports USA Today. Perceptions have declined across all racial groups after the death of George Floyd in police custody, finds a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project. The findings are important not only for the future of police forces but also for President Donald Trump, who has declared himself “the law and order president.” Among white Americans, those with a very favorable or somewhat favorable impression of police officers dropped to 61 percent in the survey conducted May 28 to June 3. That’s down from 72 percent the previous week.  The percentage of whites with a somewhat or very unfavorable view of police  rose to 31 percent from 18 percent. Among blacks, only 38 percent find the police very or somewhat favorable. T...