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 "restraint" ...
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Questions Are Raised on Restraint Training
This examination detailed how school districts across California have relied on dubious techniques developed by an obscure industry to physically restrain unruly students. While few of these restraint maneuvers are grounded in evidence-based research, they are used to subdue students who are emotionally disturbed or mentally disabled -- some of the most difficult and sensitive situations that teachers encounter. The story also found that there is little regulatory oversight of the restraint industry.
Tags: California; students; restraint
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Company's Choice Made Cars Less Safe
General Motors removed the side airbags, at request of fleet customers, from the standard package Impalas to save money for these fleet customers. In doing so, they risked the safety of thousands of people. Enterprise Rent-A-Car was one of these fleet customers, who bought “65,000 vehicles” knowing that the airbags had been removed. Enterprise not only rented these out, but also sold them online using false advertising. After this was revealed, Enterprise and many car dealerships issued apologies and bought back these vehicles above book value.
Tags: automobiles; cars; Chevy; used cars; safety feature; consumers; transportation; restraint system; build sheet; auto safety
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The Versed Protocol
An emergency protocol in Nashville to use injections of a powerful tranquilizer, called Versed, does not require patient consent to be administered to restrain the person during "excited delirium."
Tags: sedative; taser; restraint; euphoria; midazolam; hospital; psychiatric care;
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Western State
"The series looked at violence and the use of restraints and isolation at Western State Hospital, the state's chief psychiatric hospital. It also examined the use of a new generation of anti-psychotic drug at the hospital and their effects on patients."
Tags: hospitals; health care; psychiatric; anti-psychotic drugs; patients; violence
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Behind Locked Doors
Glenda Taylor and the Kerrville Daily Times take a look at the Kerr County Juvenile Detention Center after former employees and community members witness staff members abusing juvenile residents at the facility. Complaints were made, but ignored. Other complaints centered around the low pay of juvenile detention officers, and complaints of use of restraints violating state standards.
Tags: Juvenile Detention Center; juvenile detention officers; juvenile detention center abuse; Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
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Public payroll series; Harper family murders; Arvin grand jury investigation
The Bakersfield Californian uses open public records to investigate government issues. State employees such as school principals were making twice the state average. Reporters uncovered these statistics using records open to the public. They also found that firefighters were raking in money as part of their overtime commitments. The second set of stories investigates the multiple murders in Bakersfield where the suspect is a elementary school vice principal. Another story covers how the newspaper has defended an unprecedented restraint attempt by the county grand jury.
Tags: FOI; Multiple murders; Harper murders; State payroll; Arvin; Grand jury investigation
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Tough Love
The News-Journal reports on abuse and neglect riddling the juvenile justice system in Volusia County, Fla. A teenager hangs himself in his cell, and the tragedy triggers an investigation to find what is behind the hundreds of abuse complaints and the soaring rates of delinquency and recidivism. The reporters find a system where more youths are committed for lesser offenses; guards make $7 per hour; training to ensure detainees' health and safety is neither required nor offered; and turnover among guards is encouraged rather than curbed.
Tags: teenagers; crime; offenders; courts; violence; CAR; adolescents; restraint chairs; restraints
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Stalking in L.A.
The New Yorker examines the work of the Los Angeles Threat Management Unit, the only police unit in the nation devoted exclusively to combating stalking. The story compares the anti-stalking strategies of the cops at the unit with the those suggested by private consultants who have given advice to the L.A. police. While cops' standard procedure is based on obtaining a restraint order and arresting the stalkers, consultants recommend for victims to change their homes, jobs and phone numbers. The article details a few cases that the threat unit has been dealing with for years, and finds that the 'safety' strategy advised by the consultants has been more successful.
Tags: stalking; crime; police; fear; personal protection; law enforcement
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Star of Justice: On the job with America's Toughest Sheriff
Harper's Magazine reports from Phoenix, Arizona, on how Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, has violated human rights in a number of cases. The story details how inmates in the county's jails are forced "to wear pink underwear... and dig graves," while put on chain gangs. The report finds that "in a city where crime and development are growing together, Arpaio had the answers that the frightened people wanted to hear." The result: "Arpaio is treated not as a politician but as a rock star." The story details how an arrested paraplegic has been put in a restraint chair for six hours and, as a result, his right arm has withered, and his anus has become ulcerated. It describes how other arrested people have been tortured and killed while in jail. The report sheds light on lawsuits that "alleged that Arpaio created and nurtured a climate that encouraged the guards to abuse inmates," and describes his political activities.
Tags: police; Amnesty International; jail; restraint chair; litigation; civil rights; lawyers; politics; fund raising; political campaigns
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Colored by Numbers
National Journal focuses on how "government budget forecasters offer various scenarios, both rosy and gloomy, but few ever hit the marks." The report finds that "despite all of the partisan rancor over tax cuts - or perhaps because of it - one thing seems certain: Ten-year budgets and the estimates they're based on are coming in for a good deal of scrutiny." The story looks at the political debate on government spending and projected tax cuts and exposes the fallibility of the forecasts prepared by the Congressional Budget Office. The author draws the conclusion that "budgetary restraint - in short enough supply, even during an epoch of deficits - may be entirely out of stock in an era boasting any surpluses at all."
Tags: money and politics; productivity; economic advisers; deficit; surplus; Republicans; Democrats; spending; revenue; Macroeconomics