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Posts Tagged ‘crime’
How to look inside the secret world of the juvenile justice system
By Tierra Smith Correctional facilities tend to document everything. But it can be difficult for journalists to get records from the juvenile justice system because cases and incidents involving minors tend to be confidential. Chad Day, a reporter for The Associated Press; Kim English of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice; and Paula Lavigne, a…
Read MoreAUDIO: Tips for interviewing victims of trauma, sexual assault
By Allison Wrabel Reporting on sexual assault has been a topic of discussion in recent years, lately in regard to assaults on college campuses. Speakers participating in a panel at the 2015 IRE Conference discussed best practices for talking to victims, corroborating stories and striking an emotional balance. Sheila S. Coronel, dean of academic affairs…
Read MoreA conversation with Jo Ciavaglia of the Bucks County Courier Times
Jo Ciavaglia At the IRE Conference in Philadelphia, 2015 Knight Scholar Amber Johnson talked with attendee Jo Ciavaglia, a crime reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times in Levittown, Pennsylvania. The following Q&A has been edited for clarity. Q: What’s your favorite part of your job? A: I’m a crime reporter! My favorite part of…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | The Problem with Witness Protection
When the Washington, DC police chief bristled over a question about witness executions, Washington Post reporter Cheryl W. Thompson knew she was on to something. On this episode we’ll be talking to Thompson about her investigation into witness killings and intimidation. And for the second half of the show we dug into our audio archives…
Read MoreBehind the Story: How the WSJ uncovered a flawed system of reporting police killings
Rob Barry (left) and Coulter Jones (right) Rob Barry and Coulter Jones set out to analyze police killings, not poke holes in the system that tracks them. But when their sources started questioning the way they’d looked at the numbers – questioning, really, the numbers themselves – the two decided there was a more fundamental…
Read MoreBehind the Story: New Jersey reporter finds inconsistencies in 2008 death investigation
Chris Baxter Chris Baxter and NJ Advance Media wrestled out a compelling and untold story, let the digital presentation take the lead and came away with a “smashing” investigative success. Using a system he developed to keep tabs on lawsuits involving state police, Baxter came upon the stifled story of Kenwin Garcia, a Newark man…
Read MoreBehind the Story: How Chicago Magazine exposed the truth about the city’s crime rates
Chicago Magazine | June 2014 A story that helped change the way Chicagoans digest crime stats started with suspicion. Immersed in a different crime-related piece, Chicago Magazine Features Editor David Bernstein and Contributing Writer Noah Isackson noticed something amiss with the statistics. When their trusted police sources voiced skepticism, the early trappings of an idea…
Read MoreNICAR Data Library releases updated DOE campus crime data
The NICAR Database Library has updated the Department of Education’s Campus Crime data to include the most recent reports on alleged crime, arrests and discipline reported for 2012. Buy it here. What’s in it? The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that requires colleges…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | Cracking the Crime Stats
Welcome to another episode of the IRE Radio Podcast. On this week’s episode we’re talking about crime – everything from fact-checking police stats to building databases to track gun violence. Here’s the lineup: Michael Berens of The Seattle Times gets things started with a story about an odd beam of light, some dead rabbits and…
Read MoreWatch live: Google Hangout on execution secrecy
Today starting at 12 p.m. CDT we’ll be talking about how to investigate the death penalty and shed light on secrecy surrounding lethal injection practices. To watch the broadcast and submit questions, click here. You can also tweet us questions at @IRE_NICAR using the hashtag #IREHangout. We’ll be joined by four journalists who have been covering executions: Ziva…
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