Public safety

The killing of a homeless man by Los Angeles police added yet another incident to the list of high-profile police killings that have rocked the US over the last year. Now the Justice Department is issuing reports and recommendations on police bias, hoping to help repair relations between officers and citizens.

The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, told parliament in Paris that the country is ‘at war’ with terrorism and radical Islamists. But he stressed France is not at war with Islam. Ten thousand troops are being deployed to protect potential targets, like Jewish schools.

The cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in the US have their own analogues in Brazil, where relations between black citizens and police are also tense. But one Brazilian activist hopes the news from the US could push Brazilians to talk more openly about racial issues.

PRI is launching a new reporting project called SafeMode, which looks at how young people around the world are taking on the threats of the future, from cyberwar to climate change to sexual violence. So we want to know: What security issues are on your mind?

The death of Michael Brown and the protests in Ferguson have provoked lots of conversation about the militarization of the police in the United States. France has its own history of racial tensions and riots, and the week’s events have reminded some French people of tenser times.