Category Archives: Studies

Washington is the Second-Worst State to Drive

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See Where Washington Ranks Among The Worst States To Drive In | Q103.3

Apparently, Washington State is one of the worst states in the U.S. to drive in, according to a new report. Personal finance website WalletHub took a look at all 50 states to determine which are the best – and the worst – to drive in. Unfortunately, Washington State landed second from last on the list.

Traffic, road conditions and the cost of vehicle maintenance are all things that can make drivers nervous. These conditions vary across states for a variety of reasons including population, weather and government investments.

THE RANKING/GRADING CRITERIA.

To rank the states, WalletHub compared them across four key dimensions: 1. Cost of ownership and maintenance, 2. Traffic and infrastructure, 3. Safety and 4. Access to vehicles and maintenance.

Researchers then broke those dimensions down into 31 relevant metrics, including things like average gas prices, the share of rush-hour traffic congestion, number of days with precipitation, road quality, traffic fatality rate, car theft rate and auto-repair shops per capita.

Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best for drivers. WalletHub determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score.

THE RESULTS: WA STATE RANKS SECOND-TO-LAST IN WORST STATES TO DRIVE IN.

When the scores were determined, WalletHub’s report shows that Washington ranked 49th overall among 50 states, making it the second-worst state to drive in. The state ranked 47th among all states for its cost of vehicle ownership and maintenance and 39th among states for traffic and infrastructure. Both scores contributed greatly to the state finishing so low on the list.

The only state worse to drive in than Washington, according to the report, is Hawaii.

In the report, WalletHub asked experts how states can reduce the number of traffic fatalities. Dr. Arman Sargolzaei, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Southern Florida said the vast majority of U.S. traffic accidents are entirely or partially due to human error.

“A shift in responsibilities from the human driver to self-driving cars can potentially reduce accidents,” ~Dr. Arman Sargolzaei.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with Reckless Driving or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Pandemic Gun Sales

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Coronavirus: US gun sales soar amid Covid-19 pandemic fears - YouTube

Great article in the thetrace.org by reporter Champe Barton discusses new data suggesting a connection between Pandemic gun sales and increased violence.

In March 2020, as the first COVID-19 outbreaks rippled across the U.S., Americans flocked to gun stores. In total, civilians purchased some 19 million firearms over the next nine months — shattering every annual sales record. At the same time, shootings across the country soared, with dozens of cities setting grim records for homicides.

Fresh data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) provides some of the first evidence that a relationship exists.

ATF data shows that in 2020, police recovered almost twice as many guns with a short “time-to-crime” — in this case, guns recovered within a year of their purchase — than in 2019. Law enforcement officials generally view a short time-to-crime as an indicator that a firearm was purchased with criminal intent. This is because a gun with a narrow window between sale and recovery is less likely to have changed hands. Altogether, more than 87,000 such guns were recovered in 2020, almost double the previous high. And almost 68,000 guns were recovered in 2020 with a time-to-crime of less than seven months. This means they were less likely to have been purchased the previous year.

Put more plainly, thousands of guns purchased in 2020 were almost immediately used in crimes — some as soon as a day after their sale. That was the case of the 9mm Beretta pistol purchased by an Arlington man from Uncle Dan’s Pawn Shop and Jewelry in Dallas, according to police records. Officers seized the gun from its owner during a drug arrest 24 hours later. In another example, a Laredo, Texas, man assaulted his mother, then opened fire on police with his Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 rifle in July 2020. The gun had been purchased at a Cabela’s in Ammon, Idaho, just three months earlier.

The research shows that immediate booms in access to firearms almost always lead to corresponding spikes in violence.

Dr. Garen Wintemute directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis. He wasn’t surprised that the largest increase in access to firearms in history happened alongside a parallel surge in violence.

“It can be difficult or impossible statistically to sort out the contributions that any one of these [phenomena] made” to the rise in violence . . . But the bottom line is, if the prior research holds up and increases in access are associated with increases in violence, we’re in for a very rough time ahead.” ~Dr. Garen Wintemute

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face firearm offenses or any other crimes. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Has Crime Increased?

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Despite Crime Rate Decrease, Majority of Americans Think It Is Increasing

Very interesting article from freelance reporter Robert Cherry of The Hill.  It posits that although many individuals have benefitted from justifiable changes in bail and sentencing, crime has also increased.

Hill reports that in 2020, Philadelphia homicides totaled 499 — 40 percent above the previous year and just below a peak number of 500 in 1990, when the city’s population was virtually the same as today. And through July, Philadelphia is on pace to break its homicide record.

Also according to Hill, in January 2021 alone, there were 59 car-jackings, up from 18 at the same time last year, according to the Philadelphia Police Department — a more than threefold increase. There were 404 car-jackings in 2020, up from 225 in 2019 and 230 in 2018, according to the department.

A similar dynamic occurred in Chicago. As reported in 2018, Car-jackings have nearly tripled since 2015, with an increasing share committed by juveniles, thanks to a law exempting young carjackers from adult penalties.

Has crime increased?

Yes, according the U.S Department of Justice. It released a report stating that crime increased significantly in 2020. And according to an article from CNN, major American cities saw a 33% increase in homicides last year. The reasons?  The Coronavirus Pandemic, protests against racial injustice and police brutality, and the economy collapsing are all factors.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Crime Moves Up the Agenda

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Political analyst Thom Serafin: 'People don't like the crime issue, bad schools and they want better neighborhoods and good jobs. It's really simple why people leave the state' | WGN Radio 720 -

Interesting article by  Niall Stanage of The Hill says that a recent poll shows the latest proof that crime is becoming a crucial issue for American voters.

According to Stanage, the new survey from The Washington Post and ABC News found more Americans than at any time in the past 20 years believe crime is an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem in the area where they live. It also found that 59 percent of adults believe crime is extremely or very serious in the United States as a whole — the highest figure in three years.

Crime had been a pivotal topic in American politics a generation ago, especially during the worst days of the crack epidemic. But its relevance fell, along with the murder rates, from the closing years of the last century until very recently.

Murders nationwide rose by about 25 percent last year, and many major cities fared worse still. In New York City, for example, homicides rose about 45 percent in 2020. Other cities including Miami and Atlanta have seen spikes this year.

Also according to Stanage, although crime rates rose sharply last year, the politics of the issue remained mostly on the back burner as the nation dealt with the COVID-19 Pandemic and the question of how to get Americans back on their feet economically.

Stanage challenges Joe Biden to address the issue:

“There are other reasons for President Biden, in particular, to worry about the poll’s findings. It indicated that 48 percent of adults disapprove of the way he is dealing with crime, while only 38 percent approve.” ~Reporter Niall Stanage, The Hill

Biden laid out a strategy to deal with crime in a June 23 speech at the White House. The president focused largely on trying to disrupt the trade in illicit firearms. He also emphasized that local authorities could use COVID-19 relief funds to hire additional law enforcement officers.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Crime Increased in 2020

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What Can Be Done About the Increase in Violent Crime in Large Cities? | American Police Officers Alliance

Overall crime in Washington State increased in 2020 according to a report released this week by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). The annual report tracks crime and arrest data from contributing law enforcement agencies throughout Washington.

The Crime in Washington 2020 report is compiled with data from 233 state, county, municipal, and Tribal agencies and is published in conjunction with the FBI, which will compile and release national data based upon state reports later this year. The report is designed to give residents, elected officials, and law enforcement data-driven information about crime in their communities.

The report shows that in 2020 murders were up almost 47% and have increased overall 67% since 2016. Manslaughter went up 100%, fraud increased by 131%, while drug and narcotic offenses, and reported hate crimes were down slightly. The total number of commissioned officers statewide was down from 1.24 per thousand to 1.19 per thousand people. Washington is ranked 51st out of the 50 states and District of Columbia for the number of officers per thousand people. Reported cases of officers assaulted was up 6% in 2020 and has increased 67% since 2016.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

  • The total population for the State of Washington is 7,656,066.
  • There were 302 murders in 2020; this is an increase of 46.6% compared to 206 murders in 2019. Murders have increased overall 66.9% since 2016.
  • There were 59,134 fraud offenses in 2020; this is an increase of 131.3% compared to 25,562 fraud offenses in 2019. The significant increase in fraud activity in 2020 was due in part to fraudulent unemployment claims related to the pandemic.
  • A total of 468 hate crime incidents were reported, down slightly from 2019 (a decrease of 13.1%).
  • A total of 22,070 persons were arrested for DUI, including 172 juveniles.
  • Drug and narcotic abuse incidents were lower in 2020 (a decrease of 22.7%).
    • There were 8,200 arrests for Drug/Narcotic violations; of that number 4.2%
      were persons under 18 years of age.
    • Possessing/concealing of heroin constituted 23.6% of the total drug abuse incidents; the distributing/selling of heroin accounted for 3.5% of incidents (type of criminal activity can be entered three times in each incident).
  • Full-time commissioned officers totaled 11,231.
  • There was a total of 2,047 assaults on law enforcement officers, this is an increase of 6.2% compared to 1,927 assaults in 2019.
  • Two officers were killed in the line of duty, Washington State Trooper Justin Schaffer and Bothell Officer Jonathan Shoop.
  • There was a total of 59,289 Domestic Violence offenses reported; 13,909 of these offenses were Violations of Protection or No Contact Orders.
  • Domestic Violence offenses made up 49.7% of all Crimes Against Persons and 2.7% of all Crimes Against Property.
  • There were 5,432 Sexual Offenses (forcible and non-forcible) reported in 2020. There was a total of 5,432 victims in these incidents: with a total of 5,026 offenders.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

COVID Increases Overdoses

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Coronavirus US: DEA seizes $1M worth of heroin, Fentanyl labeled ' coronavirus' bio-hazard, 'Black Mamba' in Bronx drug bust - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

Great article by Brian Mann from NPR says that researchers have seen a significant rise in overdose deaths from street drugs laced with deadly synthetic opioids including Fentanyl.

“We’ve seen a very significant rise in mortality,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, who spoke Thursday as part of an on-line gathering of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The trend contributed to a stark rise in overdoses that left more than 90,000 Americans dead during the 12-month period ending in September 2020, according to the latest data.

According to preliminary figures released earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic opioid fatalities rose by an unprecedented 55% during the twelve months ending in September 2020. Deaths from methamphetamines and other stimulants also surged by roughly 46%, an increase Volkow said is linked to fentanyl contamination. In all more than 90,000 Americans died from overdoses in the latest 12-month period for which preliminary data is available. That compares to roughly 70,000 drug deaths during the same period a year earlier.

As the CDC has updated its fatal overdose estimates during the pandemic, the upward trend has shown no sign of slowing. As recently as October, data suggested the country was on track for at least 75,000 overdose deaths in 2o2o. That would have been a grim new record, but the latest figures make it clear the toll will be far higher. Preliminary data for the full year won’t be available until mid-summer.

Studies have also shown a significant increase in the number of Americans using alcohol or drugs to cope with the pressures of the pandemic. One team of CDC researchers found roughly 13% of people surveyed either began using drugs during the pandemic or increased their use of illicit substances.

“COVID-19 has made us aware how negative the stigmatization of substance use disorders has been over time,” Volkow said.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face Drug Offenses or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

COVID-19 Increased Crime

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Crime and the Coronavirus: What You Need to Know | SafeWise

Informative article by reporters Emma Tucker and Peter Nickeas of CNN finds that the U.S. saw a significant crime rise across major cities in 2020 during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Worse, it doesn’t appear to be letting up.

Major American cities saw a 33% increase in homicides last year as a pandemic swept across the country, millions of people joined protests against racial injustice and police brutality, and the economy collapsed under the weight of the pandemic — a crime surge that has continued into the first quarter of this year.

Sixty-three of the 66 largest police jurisdictions saw increases in at least one category of violent crimes in 2020, which include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, according to a report produced by the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Raleigh, North Carolina, did not report increases in any of the violent crime categories.
It’s nearly impossible to attribute any year-to-year change in violent crime statistics to any single factor, and homicides and shootings are an intensely local phenomenon that can spike for dozens of reasons. But the increase in homicide rates across the country is both historic and far-reaching, as were the pandemic and social movements that touched every part of society last year.
A PERFECT STORM OF FACTORS
Experts point to a “perfect storm” of factors — economic collapse, social anxiety because of a pandemic, de-policing in major cities after protests that called for abolition of police departments, shifts in police resources from neighborhoods to downtown areas because of those protests, and the release of criminal defendants pretrial or before sentences were completed to reduce risk of Covid-19 spread in jails — all may have contributed to the spike in homicides.
Covid-19 seemed to exacerbate everything — officers sometimes had to quarantine because of exposure or cases in their ranks, reducing the number of officers available for patrol, investigations or protest coverage. It was difficult-to-impossible to keep physical distance during protests.
Through the first three months of 2021, a number of major cities have indicated they are still experiencing high rates of violent crime, according to Laura Cooper, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. “Some cities are set to outpace last year’s numbers,” she said.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Pot Sales Boomed in Washington During COVID-19 Pandemic

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Here comes 'Big Marijuana' and the Republican hypocrites | Higher Ground | Detroit | Detroit Metro Times

A new Leafly report shows that national sales boomed during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, including in Washington, leading to growth in revenue and jobs.

Also, Leafly’s more recent Jobs Report shows that nationally, cannabis sales saw a 71% surge between 2019 and 2020. And Americans bought $18.3 billion worth of pot products in 2020, according to the report.

“Despite a year marked by a global pandemic, spiking unemployment, and economic recession, the legal cannabis industry added 77,300 full-time jobs in the United States,” Leafly’s 2021 jobs report says. “That represents 32% year-over-year job growth, an astonishing figure in the worst year for US economic growth since World War II.”

Legalization of marijuana in some form or another is rapidly catching on in most U.S. states. While some states that recently legalized recreational or medicinal use of marijuana added more jobs than Washington in 2020, its industry has continued to grow steadily since 2012, the report says.

Washington’s cannabis sales increased by 17% in 2020, with customers spending $1.42 billion on marijuana products, leading to a boom in employment, the report says. The state has 19,873 cannabis industry jobs, which is 524 more than 2019.

As one of the pioneering states in the sale of recreational marijuana, Washington has the fifth-most cannabis jobs and some of the highest sales number in the U.S., according to the report.

WHY THE SURGE?

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in March, many in the cannabis industry worried about a massive industry-wide shutdown. Instead, governors in most states declared cannabis an essential product. Dispensaries and retail stores responded by offering online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery as Covid-safe options for their customers.

Customers, in turn, responded by stocking up for those weeks of stay-at-home advisories. After a brief dip in late-March revenue, most stores saw a significant bump in April—and then the bump became a plateau.

My opinion? Whether it or not it ends up being a coping mechanism for COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like cannabis has become how many people are making it through.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face Drug Charges or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

COVID-19 Impact on Trials

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Coronavirus: California suspends jury trials in superior courts for 60 days – Orange County Register

Excellent article in Time magazine by reporter Melissa Chan discusses the Coronavirus Pandemic’s impact on our criminal justice system.

Since COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in March 2020, every state and Washington, D.C., has canceled or scaled back in-person criminal court proceedings to stem the spread of the virus. The snarled justice system has left hundreds of thousands of families waiting for trials and other resolutions, while creating a cascade of civil rights issues for the accused.

According to Chan, more defendants – especially those with health problems – are striking plea deals to avoid sitting in jail for an undetermined amount of time, defense attorneys say. And virtual courts are exposing the disadvantages of the poor, who are less likely to afford Internet access for court dates, as a staggering number of new criminal cases stack up.

The first few courts in the U.S. to stop jury selection and postpone new criminal and civil trials did so around March 2020. At that time, health officials began urging millions of Americans to stay at home and keep 6 ft. away from others when venturing out. Even the U.S. Supreme Court postponed oral arguments for the first time in more than 100 years.

By fall 2020, some criminal jury trials had resumed with restrictions, including in areas of New York State, where each county was allowed to hold one criminal trial at a time in courtrooms outfitted with plexiglass barriers and jury seats spaced several feet apart.

But the reopening was short-lived, reports Chan. A surge in COVID-19 cases around the holidays forced another round of court restrictions. At the end of November, about two dozen U.S. district courts nationwide resuspended jury trials and grand jury proceedings, marking a “significant pause” in efforts by federal courts to resume full operation, court officials said.

Today, even in jurisdictions where in-person proceedings have resumed, limits on how many people can be in a courtroom at the same time for things like jury selection continue to slow the system.

In a pre-pandemic world, state courts typically resolved 18 million felony and misdemeanor cases annually, according to an NCSC study in August 2020, and an estimated 8 million to 10 million U.S. citizens reported for jury duty each year.

“We’re in sort of this holding period.” ~Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of the Center for Jury Studies at the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).

Apparently, jury trials returning to any semblance of normality until at least 2022.

My opinion? The courts are doing their best to open again, albeit safely. Nobody wants a jury trial to become a super-spreader.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Opioid Overdoses Spiked

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Image result for drug overdose coronavirus

A new study indicates that the opioid crisis in the US is deepening.

According to latest research, the opioid epidemic did not disappear. Rather, it lurked in the shadows of the coronavirus pandemic, growing in strength and taking advantage of a society now more susceptible than ever.

In a large cross-sectional study published in JAMA Psychiatry on that analyzed nearly 190 million emergency department (ED) visits, researchers found significantly higher rates of visits to Emergency Departments for opioid overdoses during the months of March to October 2020 when compared against the same dates in 2019. The study found that, from mid-April onward, the weekly rates of ED visits for drug overdoses increased by up to 45% when compared against the same period in 2019.

The study is not an anomaly. In December, the Center For Disease Control said that the rate of overdose deaths was accelerating during the pandemic, driven by synthetic opioids, which rose 38.4% during the year leading up to June 2020.

This same JAMA Psychiatry study found that emergency department visits for mental health conditions, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect increased during the same time period as did suicide attempts. The rates of family violence are rising fast, and women and children are disproportionately affected and vulnerable during this time.

My opinion? While many lives were saved with stay-at-home orders, these savings were not without cost. And while vaccines appear to have provided a light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel, America will need to face its growing problem of anxiety, social isolation and mental illness. For some, stressors may be the fear of contracting COVID-19. For others, the stress of losing a job. And still others, the boredom of being trapped in your home with nothing to do.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face Domestic Violence and/or Drug Charges. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.



Alexander F. Ransom

Attorney at Law
Criminal Defense Lawyer

119 North Commercial St.
Suite #1420
Bellingham, WA 98225

117 North 1st Street
Suite #27
Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Phone: (360) 746-2642
Fax: (360) 746-2949

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