Justice (courts/crime/law)
Derailed series
A a four-part investigation of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNSF) by the Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) with ProPublica reveals a troubled railroad company. “Over the past decade, court records show, judges around the country have disciplined BNSF after finding that the company or its lawyers broke rules aimed at ensuring fair legal proceedings…
Read MoreThe Price of Living series
The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) spent months going through individual case files at the Charleston County Probate Court to learn what was happening to the savings of elderly incapacitated persons. Reporter Doug Pardue discovered a court that was set up to protect vulnerable elderly persons but often helped drain their estates throught court-approved fees…
Read MoreTracing the guns used to kill cops
In The Washington Post‘s continuing investigation, The Hidden Life of Guns, reporter Cheryl W. Thompson offers the first comprehensive analysis of how cop-killers got their guns. “Legal purchase was the leading source of weapons used to kill police officers. In 107 slayings, the killers acquired their firearms legally. In 170 deaths, The Post could not…
Read MoreSatellite monitoring of sex offenders under attack
In a two-part story on North Caroina’s satellite-based monitoring of sex offenders program, the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper found that technological limitations create a system that some say does nothing more than create a false feeling of security. Additionally, legal challenges may reduce the number of offenders who will have to enroll. The Journal built an…
Read MoreSerial killer series prompts police to re-open investigations
Police in Ohio and Indiana have launched new murder investigations after a Scripps Howard News Service investigation revealed dozens of clusters of unsolved killings of women nationwide that are likely the work of serial killers. Also, authorities in Nevada acknowledge they are hunting a serial killer, although the public has not been told that the unsolved murders of up to seven women…
Read MoreProgram introduced to better track crime on indian reservations
An investigation by of The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah) found that inconsistently reported crime data has meant criminal activity on the country’s American Indian reservations is not well understood. Due to inconsistencies in the reporting of this data, some tribes have missed the chance for federal money for resource intended to help…
Read MoreDespite raids, illegal massage parlors remain in operation
Yang Wang, of the Houston Chronicle, found a number of massage parlors remain open despite repeated police raids for vice crime and licensing violations. In Houston, “292 establishments have been cited by police for compliance violations, including operating without a state license, hiring unlicensed workers, operating during prohibited hours or engaging in vice crimes.” Vice…
Read MoreCrime deemed “stupid,” criminals remained free
John Diedrich and Ryan H of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that a pair of criminals who robbed a 17-year-old at gunpoint avoided incarceration because “neither the judge nor the prosecutor appears to have considered the crime or their past records to be serious, according to transcripts of the sentencing. Rather than a brazen holdup…
Read MoreBackground checks for Idaho educators unreliable
In a report by Ben Botkin of the Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), found that the state’s system for completing background checks on teachers fails to give school districts a full picture of the applicant’s background. The problem came to light after a Times-News investigation found that a teacher charged with sex crimes had a prior…
Read MoreThe Hidden Life of Guns series
The Hidden Life of Guns, a year-long investigation by The Washington Post, traced guns recovered in crimes in the region. The Post‘s analysis found a small number of gun stores in the region were linked to a vast majority of the guns recovered in crimes. “Since 1992, more than 2,500 guns recovered by police and…
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