The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "law enforcement policy" ...
-
Blood Ivory: Ivory Worship
At a time when the elephant is under siege and the world's media and NGOs have long focused attention on poaching in Africa, Bryan Christy went after ivory’s demand side. He spent nearly three years building a groundbreaking investigation into this crucial but poorly understood aspect of the illegal ivory trade. Using court records, official documentation, law enforcement sources, and reporting across five continents, Christy identified, for the first time, that religion plays a huge and ruinous role in the sale and purchase of illegal ivory; that China's government is driving the world's ivory market, has manipulated attempts to control it, and has plans to expand; and that the statistical model used by global regulators to make ivory trade policy decisions is insufficient and has been exploited.
Tags: elephant; ivory; ivory trade
-
NYPD: Fighting Crime at All Costs
WABC closely examined the aggressive policing policies of the NY Police Department. A tip from an officer regarding the use of quotas had turned into "a relentless pursuit of arrests and summonses in the city's minority communities that he claimed led to the write up of innocent people."
Tags: police; law enforcement; wrongful arrest; arrest; criminal statistics; crime statistics; crime; New York; NYPD; New York Police Department
-
Lee Sheriff's Link With Felon Raises Influence Fears
Lee County’s Sheriff has been close friends with a convicted money launderer and kidnapper. During the campaigns for sheriff, he obtained money and advice from the convicted felon. Though, being associated with a felon is not a crime, it is prohibited by the sheriff’s office policy. Once the sheriff learned of his past, he talked less and less to him but they still remain friends today.
Tags: Mike Scott; Richard Spence; law enforcement; police officers; deputies; drug cartel; corruption; connections
-
A Stunning Toll
Fort Worth Weekly partnered with University of North Texas students who made open records requests of all Texas law enforcement agencies to obtain data on deaths and injuries in Texas resulting form law enforcement agency individual's Taser use.
Tags: Distributed Reporting Project; FOI; Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; University of North Texas; UNT; Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism; Tasers; law enforcement; Texas Public Information Act; police; sheriffs; Taser International; American Civil Liberties Union; Live Music Capitol of the World; Austin; use-of-force policy; bean hole; stun gun; product safety; wrongful death; Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas; Those Disgruntled Motherfuckers That Have Been Tased; TDMTHBT; Light of Day Project; IRE Student Entry
-
State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
The Bush Administration has pushed many policies that allow for more intrusive law enforcement and investigation during its War on Terror. Author James Risen examines the National Security Agency's wireless wiretaps, a CIA report that showed that Iraq's WMD program had ceased, but which was buried; politics' heavy involvement of post-invasion intelligence in Iraq, as well as snafus involving relations with Iran.
Tags: Bush Administration; War on Terror; warrantless wiretaps; CIA; Iraq; Weapons of Mass Destruction; WMD; Iraq War
-
Columbus Police Chief
This investigation uncovered violation of drinking-and-driving laws and policies by the chief of the Columbus Indiana Police Department; it involved surveillance of the chief. In one incident, he arrived an hour late to a hostage crisis after drinking on a golf course. The story led to the chief's suspension and resignation.
Tags: alcohol; law enforcement; drinking and driving; drunk driving; police chief malfeasance; surveillance
-
Criminal Justice Chaos
This story compilation addresses numerous problems within the Texas Department of Corrections. Investigators found violations of government policies, parole officers with disciplinary problems, repeated employee negligence and even some of the worst criminals slipping through holes in the system to find new victims.
Tags: Texas; department of corrections; criminal justice; courts; probation and parole; crime; law enforcement; prisons; public safety; criminals
-
The Illusion of Homeland Security
"The series questioned the common assumptions that lawmakers, policy leaders and law-enforcement officials had a meaningful and strategic plan to fight and thwart terrorists in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The research done in these stories showed that U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants were not based on risk, but were distributed and spent like entitlements, often without a concerted plan. Furthermore, supposed successes by the U.S. Department of Justice in rounding up would-be terrorists were found to be trumped up once the facts behind the statistics were unearthed."
Tags: FOIA; terrorism; homeland security; defense; money; government grants; government spending
-
"Badge of dishonor"
A five-month investigation showed that at least 41 officers in King and Pierce counties have been accused of domestic assault. Most faced few, if any, professional reprimands, and only half faced charges. Furthermore, most law enforcement agencies lacked policies about how to handle domestic violence involving law officers. Amid the newspaper's investigation, a chilling example highlighted the danger : a police chief accused of domestic violence fatally shot his estranged wife before killing himself.
Tags: domestic violence; police; domestic assault; domestic abuse; internal affairs; law enforcement; CAR; computer-assisted reporting
-
Unanswered Questions
After two of Missouri's most dangerous prisoners escaped from the state penitentiary, K-O-M-U TV investigated how these criminals could be missing. To find these answers, they did an overnight investigation. Their reports showed lapses in laws being enforced, security being allowed to lapse over time, and prison officials' unwillingness to fix this "old" prison because o fan upcoming move to a new facility. i.e. parts of the wall surrounding the prison fell down and were never repaired due to the move and money.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; criminals; Missouri State Penitentiary; fugitives; prison security; prison officials; escape; Missouri State Penitentiary Policies; Section 217.360 of Missouri Revised Statutes