Some victims of sex crimes want their perpetrators to spend more time being closely monitored and receiving treatment before they can petition for release from lifetime probation. Read more»

A proposal in the Arizona House to target predators who were able to plead felony offenses down to a misdemeanor and increase the punishments for sexual offenders could put teenagers in prison for having intimate relationships with their peers. Read more»

A bill that would establish manufacturing fentanyl around a minor younger than 12 as a dangerous crime, and, according to some, would decrease the amount in a person’s possession that could land them a charge for intent to sell, passed its first hurdle to become Arizona law. Read more»

A pair of bills proposed by Fountain Hills Republican John Kavanagh that would criminalize common activities for people experiencing homelessness had their first hearings in the Arizona Senate Wednesday, although their path to becoming law remains unclear. Read more»

Any plans to implement independent community oversight of Arizona police departments are effectively dead after Republican lawmakers passed laws aimed at excluding police critics and letting cops lead that oversight. Read more» 1

First-time offenders who commit multiple felonies on different dates will get lighter sentences after Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation similar to a bill he vetoed two years ago. Read more»

House Speaker Rusty Bowers is taking another shot at passing legislation making it easier for some people to get their names off the state's sex offender registry. Read more»

As COVID-19 began to spread across the Southwest in March, lawyers representing incarcerated Arizonans reported “unsanitary conditions,” “inadequate medical staffing and treatment” and a “failure to take strong and sensible precautionary measures” in state prisons. Read more»

Senate Bill 1556 would have made a number of changes to Arizona’s civil asset forfeiture system, under which law enforcement and prosecutors can take money and property allegedly used for or resulting from crimes. Chief among them would be to require a criminal conviction before property can be permanently taken. Read more»

Arizona was fourth-highest among states for the number of people killed by police over the last two-plus years, with 93 individuals being killed in that time, according to a national database. Despite being the 15th-largest state in terms of population, Arizona trailed only California, Florida and Texas for killings by police. Read more»