Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez May 13, 2022
‘It’s a Money Grab’: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons Less than two years after racial justice protests sparked calls to “defund the police,” states and jurisdictions are using pandemic aid to pad already bloated law enforcement budgets. Brian Dolinar Mar 23, 2022
What Happened When Oakland Tried to Make Police Pay for Misconduct Decades Ago In the '90s, the city passed a policy requiring the police department to pay some of their own legal costs. There’s no evidence that the department ever paid up. Akintunde Ahmad Mar 01, 2022
How Could Police Shootings Keep Happening After We Did Nothing To Stop Them? Jerry Iannelli Feb 15, 2022
How St. Paul Became The Twin Cities’ Leader On Justice Reform Although Minneapolis has garnered media attention since the George Floyd uprising, St. Paul may be the Twin City making the most strides toward transformative justice. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s actions may undo positive steps in Ramsey County. Hibah Ansari, Anna Simonton Jan 11, 2022
‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi Dec 06, 2021
Meet the California PR Firm Helping Cops Fight Off Bad Press There’s a growing business crafting law enforcement narratives about police shootings and officer misconduct. Scott Morris Nov 30, 2021
How a Troubled Police Department Is Shaping Buffalo’s Mayoral Race Citing years of police brutality and racial disparities in arrests, activists are pushing candidates to embrace reforms ahead of next week’s Democratic primaries. Raina Lipsitz Jun 15, 2021
How The Twin Cities Mayors Diverge on Policing and Race While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey faces scrutiny over policing and racial equity issues, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has helped his city achieve progressive milestones, say lawmakers and advocates. Cinnamon Janzer May 25, 2021
Ed Gainey Wins Democratic Nomination for Pittsburgh Mayor The state representative will almost certainly be the city’s first Black mayor, and his victory follows a year of nationwide social upheaval over police and racial justice issues. Joshua Vaughn May 18, 2021
Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 05, 2021
How Policing Is Shaping the Pittsburgh Mayoral Race Incumbent Bill Peduto’s policing record is under scrutiny after protests last summer. He is facing what may be his most competitive race yet. Joshua Vaughn Apr 27, 2021
After Daunte Wright’s Death, Advocates Press Leaders to Get Police Out of Traffic Enforcement Cities across the country must rethink the role of law enforcement, as police continue to brutalize and kill Black men and women during traffic stops, advocates say. Joshua Vaughn Apr 14, 2021
The Pandemic Prompted Marilyn Mosby to Stop Prosecuting Low-Level Crimes. Will Other D.A.s Follow? Prosecutors across the country have begun declining low-level cases in an effort to reduce racial inequity and to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Vaughn Apr 12, 2021
Activists Who Helped Elect Birmingham Mayor Balk at Police Expansion Plans Mayor Randall Woodfin is increasing police funding and ignoring calls for non-law enforcement public safety alternatives. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 30, 2021
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Will Curb Prosecutions of Low-Level Traffic Violations A new diversion program will allow people charged with driving with a suspended license or without insurance to avoid jail time and fees. Joshua Vaughn Mar 29, 2021
Sheila Nezhad Says Police Are Not the Path to Public Safety in Minneapolis Nezhad, a community organizer, is seeking to unseat incumbent Jacob Frey on a platform of transforming public safety without police, providing housing for all, and addressing poverty through direct economic support. Joshua Vaughn
Philly Cops Are Solving Fewer Homicides. The City Keeps Paying Them Millions Community members and advocates question why Mayor Jim Kenney and the City Council continue to fund the police department at record levels, despite the department’s low murder solve rate. Joshua Vaughn Mar 01, 2021
Cities Are Pressuring Landlords to Evict People Under ‘Crime-Free’ Housing Laws In Granite City, Illinois, landlords have been penalized for refusing to evict tenants who have criminal records or are simply living with someone who does. Cinnamon Janzer Jan 11, 2021
‘Basically Cyberbullying’: How Cops Abuse Social Media to Publicly Humiliate Law enforcement agencies are creating online content, often at the expense of people they have arrested. Hope Corrigan Dec 21, 2020
The Past, Present, and Future of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office The DA’s office has been home to bribery, corruption, and more since it was formed 170 years ago. What could a progressive prosecutor do to change that? Lexis-Olivier Ray, Lex Roman Nov 01, 2020
California’s Proposition 20 Would Roll Back Years of Criminal Justice Reform The ballot initiative, supported by police, corporations, and even big grocery chains, would use more taxpayer money to incarcerate people, rather than invest in other social services. Ray Levy Uyeda Oct 08, 2020
Highway Stop-And-Frisk: How Pennsylvania State Troopers Conduct Illegal Traffic Searches A review of five years of cases that arose from traffic stops in the south-central region of the state shows that police used underhand tactics to justify holding and searching drivers illegally. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Aug 31, 2020
Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Homelessness Report Calls for Defunding of Police A June report from the county’s independent judicial arm urges local government to reallocate law enforcement resources to social services. Ella Fassler Jul 31, 2020
Seattle Mayor Known As ‘Tear Gas Jenny’ For Police Treatment Of Protesters Has Troubled History As A Federal Prosecutor As U.S. attorney in Seattle, Durkan prosecuted a severely mentally ill man in a terrorism case using an informant convicted of child sex abuse—and claimed to have reformed the same Seattle Police Department that has tear-gassed peaceful protesters for weeks. Jerry Iannelli Jul 29, 2020
Impunity for Law Enforcement Must End. That Includes Officers in Jails and Prisons. Qualified immunity is just one obstacle of many that incarcerated people face when seeking to hold correctional officers accountable for misconduct. Joshua Manson Jul 23, 2020
Police at Polling Places Could Intimidate Voters This November, Advocates Warn This year’s presidential contest will be the first since a federal judge lifted a decades-old consent decree barring the Republican National Committee from engaging in “ballot security,” or voter intimidation at the polls. Kira Lerner Jul 02, 2020
Philadelphia Police Make Hundreds of Looting Arrests, Leave Many More Violent Crime Cases Unsolved The city’s clearance rate for murder, whose victims are disproportionately Black, has hovered around 40 percent for the last several years. Joshua Vaughn Jun 25, 2020
How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody The Department of Justice is leaving researchers, policymakers, and advocates in the dark about deaths in police custody, prisons, and jails. Ethan Corey Jun 24, 2020
Protesters Say Hamilton County Sheriff Held Them Overnight Without Food, Water, Bathrooms Two people, arrested and detained in Cincinnati after protesting the police killing of George Floyd, recall being held at the jail, outside, for hours. Caleb Brennan Jun 22, 2020
Portland City Council Votes to Cut $15 Million From Police Budget The cuts will defund a controversial gang policing unit and end the city’s policing partnership with TriMet, the regional transit agency. Jay Willis Jun 17, 2020
Atlanta’s Mayor Wants $13 Million More For Police. Four Officers Were Just Fired For Using Excessive Force. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has asked for the budget increase amid ongoing local and national reports of police violence against protesters. Ko Bragg Jun 11, 2020
Mississippi Attorney General Won’t Pursue Case Against White Officer for Killing Black Man Canyon Boykin was charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing Ricky Ball during a traffic stop in 2015. Ko Bragg Jun 01, 2020
Defund the Police Now More training, more equipment, and more officers will not stop police from killing Black people. Justin Brooks
Justice in America: Episode 28: School to Prison Pipeline Josie Duffy Rice and her co-host, Derecka Purnell, talk to Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project, about the school to prison pipeline. Apr 15, 2020
The ‘Reasonable Person’ Looks A Lot Like Law Enforcement. Will That Change? Sarah Lustbader Jan 21, 2020
Illinois pardons are a reminder of the scale of marijuana arrests, past and present Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 03, 2020
Community Policing Is Not the Answer Investing billions of government dollars into programs that embed police in Black communities will not reduce police violence, nor repair years of injustice. Philip V. McHarris Dec 02, 2019
Philadelphia Trauma Center Closure Could Mean More Shooting Deaths—And Tough-on-Crime Talk Research shows access to a trauma center is critical after a shooting. But as gun deaths are rising in Philly, one trauma center has closed. Experts say a rise in homicides may prompt more policing. Joshua Vaughn Nov 12, 2019
New York Subway Police Make Us Less Safe Recent violent arrests in the city subways should make New Yorkers question the push by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the MTA to hire 500 new transit police. Jonathan Ben-Menachem Nov 05, 2019
People Behind the Girls Do Porn Website Were Just Charged With Sex Trafficking. But Complaints Were Filed About Them Years Ago. At least three women made police reports about Girls Do Porn in 2015, but recruiters continued to exploit women until the FBI stepped in last month. Meg O'Connor Nov 04, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: When Police Officers Double as Prosecutors With Appeal contributors Julia Rock and Harry August Adam H. Johnson Oct 31, 2019
Austin Braces As Texas Officials Plan Crackdown On Homeless Encampments Last week, the City Council reinstated a “no camping” ordinance meant to discourage people experiencing homelessness from sleeping on sidewalks and outside a shelter. Advocates say the city is criminalizing poverty. Aaron Morrison Oct 25, 2019
Five Oakland Police Officers Involved In Fatal Shooting Of Homeless Man Seek Reinstatement The officers who killed Joshua Pawlik in 2018 are asking a state judge to block a federally appointed monitor’s decision that they violated policies on use of force. Darwin BondGraham Oct 16, 2019
Rhode Island Police Don’t Just Make Arrests. Some Also Act As Prosecutors. The state is one of eight that allow cops to arraign people on misdemeanor charges. Advocates and academics say the practice is unjust. Julia Rock, Harry August Oct 10, 2019
Their Juvenile Records Were Sealed. Decades Later, They’ve Reappeared. The Washington State Patrol has added thousands of old sealed juvenile records to a database it shares with law enforcement agencies across the country—erasing for many their chance of a clean slate. Tori Marlan Sep 24, 2019
California Supreme Court Fails To Resolve ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Created By Police Privacy Laws A narrow ruling on Brady lists ensures that protecting the police will continue to prevail over due process. Kyle C. Barry Sep 18, 2019
When Prosecutors Bury Police Lies Court records and interviews with former prosecutors show that internal assessments of police dishonesty are rarely memorialized, potentially violating the rights of people charged in criminal cases and sometimes keeping the records of bad cops clean. George Joseph, Ali Winston Sep 17, 2019
‘No Knock’ Warrants Spur Wave Of Civil Rights Lawsuits In Little Rock Police are accused of lying to obtain the warrants to conduct military-style raids on the homes of poor people and people of color. Joshua Vaughn Sep 06, 2019
New Lawsuit Claims a Sacramento Deputy Unlawfully Arrested Activist Who Protested Clearing Of Homeless Encampment Advocates and homeless people are suing Sacramento County over its treatment of homeless—and the city responded by filing a lawsuit against seven men for being a ‘public nuisance.‘ Meg O'Connor Sep 04, 2019
Assuming Guilt While Reporting on Mass Arrests Kansas City news outlets called scores of people ‘violent criminals’ based solely on the word of police and the federal government. Adam H. Johnson Sep 03, 2019
Bail Isn’t Supposed to Be a Punishment. Why Does the Media Keep Acting Like it Is? How high or low bond is isn’t a measure of how severe the state considers a crime. Adam H. Johnson Aug 28, 2019
‘Is This The Guy?’ Police and prosecutors claimed facial recognition technology wasn’t at the center of a shoplifting case, but defense attorneys say it was the sole basis for probable cause to arrest. Mike Hayes Aug 20, 2019
Painting a Distorted Picture of Crime ‘Spikes’ in New York City Murder rates are at an all-time low in Brooklyn, but one would hardly know it reading the New York Times. Adam H. Johnson Aug 16, 2019
A New Mexico Man Accused a Deputy of ‘Gestapo’-like Training. Then He Was Arrested. In Valencia County, a sheriff’s deputy who once faced allegations of excessive force in Albuquerque is accused of assaulting an elderly man. Joshua Vaughn
Pulling Back the Curtain on Boston’s ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ Most coverage of police raids targeting homeless people and substance users parroted official—and fraught—talking points. Jonathan Ben-Menachem Aug 15, 2019
Chicago Police Pointed Guns At And Traumatized Children in Botched Raids, Lawsuits Allege Children as young as 4 years old are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, the complaints say. Lauren Gill Aug 14, 2019
Oakland Police Have Been Systematically Underreporting Use Of Force A new internal audit shows that officers disproportionately strike, tussle with, and draw guns on Black people but then fail to disclose the incidents in their reports. Darwin BondGraham Aug 12, 2019
‘See How Quickly They Behave Once We Put Our Foot Down?’ A federal lawsuit claims that Palo Alto, California, police falsely detained, arrested, and beat a gay Latinx man—then boasted about their brutality. Joshua Vaughn Aug 08, 2019
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People Dozens of reports about an indigent man in Bradenton, Florida, showed the cruel excesses of local news’s homelessness coverage. Adam H. Johnson Jul 31, 2019
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 29, 2019
Spotlight: Daniel Pantaleo Won’t Face Federal Charges. Will He Be Fired? Vaidya Gullapalli Jul 17, 2019
Oakland Police Conducted An Illegal Search And Then Lied About It. But They May Be Spared From Discipline. A California Superior Court ruling gives officers accused of misconduct access to investigator notes and files while cases are in progress. Darwin BondGraham
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis Sensational and false news reports about the drug are pushing lawmakers to enact harmful policies. Zachary A. Siegel, Maia Szalavitz Jul 16, 2019
Media Frame: A ‘War on Cops’ Narrative Without Evidence ABC News claims anti-police violence is on the rise but offers no data. Adam H. Johnson Jul 02, 2019
San Francisco Is Paying For Jamal Trulove’s Wrongful Conviction. Will Kamala Harris? Police and prosecutors framed a father of four in a 2007 murder case with local and national political implications. Kyle C. Barry
Pennsylvania Police Department Accused of Sexism Brandi Courtesis lost her job with the Gettysburg force after saying a colleague sexually harassed her. The accused, fired for another reason, may be back in uniform soon. Joshua Vaughn Jun 27, 2019
Media Frame: Time to Ban Ride-Along Police TV Reality shows like ‘The First 48,’ ‘Live PD,’ and ‘Cops’ are interfering in legal cases, exploiting people of color, and threatening lives. Adam H. Johnson Jun 24, 2019
Spotlight: When Police Spread Racism and Hate Online, It Says Something About How They Work Vaidya Gullapalli Jun 19, 2019
Floridians Are Suing a Cop Fired for Planting Drugs in Their Vehicles Thanks to the diligence of one assistant state attorney, 119 cases were thrown out and the officer is under state investigation. Katie Rose Quandt Jun 17, 2019
Body Cameras And Tasers Rake In Billions For Axon, But They’re No Panacea For Police Violence The popularity of Axon’s tech soared after the police killing of Michael Brown in 2014, but it may be doing more harm than good in protecting people from excessive force. Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 10, 2019
Media Frame: Stoking Panic Over ‘Flood’ of ‘Juveniles’ in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor The sensationalist coverage of a handful of fights highlights local media’s misplaced priorities. Adam H. Johnson Jun 07, 2019
A New Moral Panic Targets Moms In Pennsylvania, mothers are harshly penalized for leaving children unattended in vehicles, even for several minutes. Joshua Vaughn May 30, 2019
Commander Of Major California Narcotics Task Force Fired For A String Of Thefts And Lies Newly released records show that task force members faced allegations of theft and questionable overtime, all under the watch of a commander later fired for lying as the misconduct was investigated. Darwin BondGraham May 23, 2019
State Trooper Said Man Took Bag From Fentanyl Supplier, But Video Demonstrated That The Deal Never Went Down Trooper testimony inconsistent with video and misconduct among state and local law enforcement in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have caused at least 15 drug cases to unravel. Zachary A. Siegel May 20, 2019
Incarceration Is Always a Policy Failure Instead of building ‘humane jails’ to replace Rikers Island, let’s push the NYPD to cut down on arrests. Jonathan Ben-Menachem May 15, 2019
Bronx Cops Celebrated A Copwatcher’s Arrest. They Had No Idea They Were Caught On Tape. New York City just paid Jose LaSalle of the Copwatch Patrol Unit nearly $900,000 over claims of false arrest related to the 2016 incident, but his fight for justice is far from over. Ashoka Jegroo May 09, 2019
Police In California Are Killing Sleeping People The fatal shooting by Oakland police of an unconscious man as he woke is putting pressure on the California department to rethink its deployment of force. Darwin BondGraham May 02, 2019
‘They Sent Him to His Cell to Die’ Rashad McNulty entered a guilty plea in a series of federal gang indictments in New York that have been criticized as racist and overly punitive. But before McNulty was even sentenced, he died in jail. Now, his family is seeking justice. Aaron Morrison May 01, 2019
California Cities Have Shredded Decades of Police Misconduct Records Police union lawsuits delayed many local governments from complying with a new transparency law. In the meantime, some cities have destroyed files. Darwin BondGraham Apr 17, 2019
Florida Woman Faced 10 Years For ‘Meth’ That Was ‘Just a Rock’ A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case. Meg O'Connor Mar 26, 2019
Women Say Pennsylvania Cop Committed Sexual Assaults, Recorded Them on Body Camera Their claims are part of a federal lawsuit; other women say they, too, were assaulted and the officer now faces a raft of criminal charges. Joshua Vaughn Mar 19, 2019
Miami Police Arrest Thousands of Homeless But Leave Rapes, Robberies Unsolved In 2017, over 2,000 homeless people were arrested on charges including drinking in public and panhandling. That same year, roughly 1,400 people were arrested in Miami-Dade County for rape, murder, and robbery. Meg O'Connor Mar 18, 2019
‘I’m Not Going Anywhere Until They Stop Killing People’ In 2009, Anaheim police shot and killed Theresa Smith’s son. A new California law promises police transparency, but her quest for answers faces a substantial cost. Aaron Morrison Mar 13, 2019
Chicago Cop’s Sentence For Killing A Black Teenager Is ‘Exceptionally Short’ Jason Van Dyke’s sentence for the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald is approximately half the average sentence for a person convicted of second-degree murder in Cook County, Illinois. Rob Arthur Feb 25, 2019
Inside ‘The Stop-And-Frisk Capital of America’ Claims including sexual assault of a woman with mental illness to lying in reports haunt the Miami Gardens police; payouts in federal lawsuits have cost the city's taxpayers at least $3.5 million. Meg O'Connor Feb 21, 2019
California Police Unions Fight New State Law Promising Transparency on Misconduct Records Senate Bill 1421 requires law enforcement agencies to make public investigative records of officer-involved shootings and uses of force resulting in great bodily harm. But law enforcement unions argue that the law threatens the privacy of their members. Darwin BondGraham Feb 20, 2019
I Arrested A Man On Marijuana Charges. Then He Took His Own Life. A former Baltimore Police officer says it’s time for the department to stop wasteful, harmful marijuana arrests, especially after Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s announcement that her office would not prosecute cases of possession. Larry Smith Feb 11, 2019
Expansion Of Largest Jail System In The United States Must End Los Angeles County’s jail system incarcerates tens of thousands of people at a multi-billion dollar cost. The communities most impacted by mass incarceration have had enough. Patrisse Cullors, Lex Steppling Jan 23, 2019
Is The NYPD’s Special Victims Division Prematurely Closing Sexual Assault Cases? Advocates say victims are being pressured to sign ‘withdrawal’ forms to quickly close investigations and protect the department from legal liability. Meg O'Connor Dec 17, 2018
Black Lives Matter DC’s Battle to End Stop-and-Frisk In The Nation’s Capital Advocates say the city has dragged its feet on legislation meant to ensure transparency on the police practice, and that data released so far—from 2010 to 2016, nearly 82 percent of stops involved Black people—signals that it’s time to end stop-and-frisk entirely. Ella Fassler Dec 03, 2018
Immigrant Who Fled Gangs and Torture Challenges ICE Detainers Attorneys for a Honduran woman are suing over the widespread jailhouse practice of honoring ICE requests to hold incarcerated immigrants for pickup. Debbie Nathan
Georgia Woman Endured Arrest, Million-Dollar Bond, and Months of Jail Over ‘Meth’ That Was Actually Cotton Candy A notoriously unreliable roadside drug test administered by Monroe County sheriff's deputies led to Dasha Fincher being charged with methamphetamine trafficking. Lauren Gill Nov 27, 2018
Is A Philadelphia Agency’s Seizure Of Vehicles A New Form of Civil Asset Forfeiture? The city’s experiment with civil asset forfeiture was supposed to end, but the practices of its parking agency and some in state law enforcement suggest that police may be turning to other forms of property confiscation. Ryan Briggs Nov 14, 2018
Program Meant To Fight Terrorism and Narcotrafficking Is Being Used to Target The Undocumented Community Opposition to Operation Stonegarden, however, is spreading; one Arizona county just rejected over $1 million of its funds. Debbie Nathan Oct 22, 2018
NYPD Unit That Monitored Proud Boys Event Has Troubled History The Strategic Response Group was created for counter-terrorism but it's involved in everything from Broken Windows policing to suppressing protest. Ashoka Jegroo Oct 19, 2018
Man Convicted Of Obstruction For Refusing To Open His Door For Police If his conviction stands, it could criminalize people who refuse to do things like unlock their phones or garages at police request. Levi Pulkkinen Oct 17, 2018
Secretive Campus Cops Patrol Already Overpoliced Neighborhoods Campus police forces have become more professionalized, but critics say they operate behind a veil of secrecy and often exceed their jurisdiction. Ryan Briggs Oct 15, 2018
Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’ A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 2018
In One Pennsylvania County, Rape Victims Rarely Find Justice Since 2015, police in Adams County have taken dozens of reports of rape, yet charges were filed in just two cases. Joshua Vaughn Sep 25, 2018
In Washington State, It’s Nearly Impossible To Prosecute Police Killings This fall, however, an initiative goes to voters that would change the law on deadly force by the police, which has led to no officer there being convicted of wrongfully killing someone in the line of duty in more than 30 years. Mike Faulk Sep 20, 2018
A Grand Jury Indicted An Alabama Police Officer For Murder. Then A Mayor Came To His Defense. Jeffery Parker was shot to death by a police officer in his Huntsville home. A grand jury handed up an indictment for murder, but the mayor and City Council appear to be throwing their support behind the officer. Lauren Gill Sep 10, 2018
In Pennsylvania, Defendants Pay A Fee Just To Plead Guilty The ‘plea fee’ stems from a state law passed in the 1980s and can cost nearly $200, depending on the county. Joshua Vaughn Aug 29, 2018
Notoriously Brutal, Racist Plainclothes Policing Makes A Return In Baltimore After the Gun Trace Task Force scandal rocked the police department, plainclothes policing was spurned. But a recently resigned commissioner championed plainclothes units, a decision the department seems to be sticking with. Larry Smith Aug 22, 2018
Defund The Baltimore Police A former Baltimore cop questions how a department with a nearly half-billion-dollar budget that is riven by rampant corruption and brutality, bloated overtime spending, and unaccounted for patrol officers can continue to justify its existence Larry Smith Aug 15, 2018
Milwaukee Candidates Clash In Race to Succeed The Infamous Sheriff Clarke Several candidates are vying to become Milwaukee Sheriff in the wake of Sheriff David Clarke's resignation last fall. But will they truly spurn his legacy of jail deaths and cooperation with ICE? Raven Rakia Aug 10, 2018
Against Innocence In the wake of Nia Wilson’s murder, it’s critical that calls for justice in response to anti-Black violence are not contingent upon appeals to white-approved notions of innocence and respectability. Zoé Samudzi Aug 08, 2018
After Hearing Concerns about ICE, Texas Sheriff Ran Apparent Traffic Sting That Led to Deportation Proceedings A community group met with the Bastrop County sheriff in an effort to build trust between the sheriff’s office and the immigrant community. Then, the sheriff ran a sting that led to more than one dozen arrestees being handed over to ICE. Michael Arria Jul 31, 2018
US Attorney’s Office That Prosecuted Inauguration Day Protesters Has History of Misconduct Findings Prosecutors on the "J20" case faced grave allegations of misconduct after withholding exculpatory evidence contained in videos from defense attorneys. But this is far from the first time that this office has found itself in hot water. Jessica Brand, Ethan Brown Jul 30, 2018
Multiple Police Cars Summoned to Arrest Selma Civil Rights Activist for Allegedly Stealing a Campaign Sign Faya Rose Touré, a 73-year-old former judge, says she’s determined to fight the charges against her. Lauren Gill
Former Baltimore Police Officer Criticizes The Department’s Gang Database A onetime gang liaison for the Baltimore Police Department writes that its database is racist and error-ridden. Larry Smith Jul 23, 2018
After A Murder Conviction is Reversed, Police Chief Vows to Watch Defendant ‘Til the Day I Die’ Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing? Max Rivlin-Nadler Jul 03, 2018
Austin Cops Said They Shot A Man Who Fired On Them–But It Turns Out He Didn’t Fire A Shot Lawrence Parrish faces charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and remains jailed on $500,000 bond even though the Austin police admitted he never shot at them. Michael Arria Jul 02, 2018
The Baltimore Police’s ‘Summer Surge’ Scam A former Baltimore Police officer says that a plan to flood the streets with local and federal law enforcement is likely to yield more of the same ineffective 'broken windows'-style arrests. Larry Smith Jun 29, 2018
A Black Man Called The Cops Nazis–And Was Charged With A Hate Crime A Pennsylvania hate crime statute is being used by law enforcement to punish angry arrestees. Joshua Vaughn Jun 28, 2018
Responses to Violence Must Move Beyond Policing The solution to problems like unsolved homicides, especially in communities of color, cannot be reinvestment in institutions that wage violence against them. William C. Anderson Jun 19, 2018
Eric Holder May Be Considering a Presidential Run. But Has His Time Passed? As voters begin to realize that prosecutors in the world's most incarcerated nation may not be the best people to run the government, the era of the prosecutor politician could be on its way out. Chase Madar
Police Killed Saheed Vassell in a Gentrifying Neighborhood. Did That Make a Difference? Brenden Beck Apr 11, 2018
Cascade of Overturned Cases May Emerge In Wake of Philly DA’s ‘Bad Cop’ List Maura Ewing, Daniel Denvir Apr 09, 2018
A National Campaign to Crack Down on Massage Businesses May Harm the Women it Wants to Help Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Feb 22, 2018
In Portland, A Mother Sues For Answers About Why The Police Killed Her Son Max Rivlin-Nadler Feb 14, 2018
Activists Fight Back After NYPD Turns Prosecutor To Avoid Civil Suits Max Rivlin-Nadler, Ashoka Jegroo Feb 06, 2018
NYC Agency Uses Brooklyn Gang Raid To Encourage Evictions Of Entire Families From Public Housing Emma Whitford Jan 31, 2018
California Ruling Could Give Accused Gang Members a Chance to Clear Their Names Maura Ewing Jan 24, 2018
How Philadelphia’s Social Media-Driven Gang Policing Is Stealing Years From Young People Max Rivlin-Nadler Jan 19, 2018
From Gang Allegations to Deportation: How Boston is Putting its Immigrant Youth in Harm’s Way Kade Crockford Jan 18, 2018
Stop and Frisk Apologies Prove that the Mic Must be Passed to People Most Affected by the Police Josmar Trujillo Jan 15, 2018
“Murder Every Day but the Spotlight on Bike Life”: Amid 343 Homicides, Baltimore Police Crack Down on Dirt Bikes Brandon Soderberg Jan 10, 2018
Family, Former Attorney of Queens Woman Who Fell to Her Death in Vice Sting Say She Was Sexually Assaulted, Pressured to Become an Informant Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford Dec 15, 2017
Starving The Beast: Chicago’s Fight Against Police Expansion is Everyone’s Fight Josmar Trujillo Nov 30, 2017
Tennessee Sheriff Launches ‘Busted Bingo’ To Round Up People With Warrants “Kiss your boyfriend goodbye.” Carimah Townes Nov 27, 2017
Memphis Police Failed to Properly Investigate “Hundreds” of Rape Cases, Says Former Memphis Police Sex Crimes Detective Melissa Gira Grant Nov 21, 2017
Symbolic “Justice”: California’s New Rape Kit Laws Fail to Address Existing Problems with Investigating Rape Dispatches is our series from organizers, attorneys, officials, and others working at the frontlines of local criminal justice reform. Heather Marlowe Nov 20, 2017
Another death sentence overturned in Las Vegas due to prosecutors racial bias. This case was always about race,” defense attorney said. Larry Hannan Nov 08, 2017
St. Louis Police Team Up with Media to Smear Black Lives Matter Protesters Adam H. Johnson Sep 28, 2017
A Step Toward Justice: Facing Race and Fear in the Criminal Justice System Vincent M. Southerland Sep 25, 2017
Allegations of police corruption in Chicago present a big opportunity for Kim Foxx Who is she accountable to? Carimah Townes Sep 20, 2017
Sessions scales back federal reform as police-community relations continue to crumble Rebecca McCray Sep 19, 2017
Portland is saying goodbye to its controversial gang database Police say the tool is outdated. Carimah Townes Sep 12, 2017
County attorney drops eight criminal cases due to an illegal search by New Jersey cops The officers’ credibility is under fire. Carimah Townes Aug 28, 2017
The future of civil asset forfeiture in Albuquerque at stake in mayoral race Carimah Townes Aug 17, 2017
Charges dropped against black teenager, but no explanation for how she was mistaken for man wielding machete Larry Hannan Aug 09, 2017
Las Vegas area cops seizing millions of dollars from low-income people of color Carimah Townes Jul 11, 2017
