A Lack Of Evidence Doesn’t Keep The New York Times From Declaring a ‘Spike In Crime’
In two articles, the Times asserts a ‘spike’ in crime since the passage of bail reform in New York, an increase that the articles themselves note they can’t prove.
Adam H. Johnson Feb 10, 2020
The Appeal Podcast: Police Abuse In American Schools
With journalist Roxanna Asgarian.
Adam H. Johnson Feb 06, 2020
Michigan Task Force Calls On State To Significantly Reduce Mass Incarceration In County Jails
A bipartisan group has recommended substantive changes to the state’s legal justice system, including cash bail reform and proposals to divert people living with mental illnesses away from incarceration.
Dawn R. Wolfe Feb 03, 2020
In One California City, Police Kill With Near Impunity
Since 2010, no Vallejo officer has been disciplined for using deadly force, despite multiple shootings of unarmed people—including a man holding a can of beer. And active police union leaders have been involved in the shooting investigations.
Darwin BondGraham Dec 18, 2019
Boston Law Enforcement Has Been Fighting A Court Order To Release Data On Who Police Target On Snapchat
District Attorney Rachael Rollins ran as a reformer who would work to increase transparency, but her office and the police department have been fighting the order.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 13, 2019
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
Hundreds of Victim and Witness DNA Profiles Removed From New York City Database
Advocates say the removals are more evidence of a troubling and unregulated law enforcement tool, overseen by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Aaron Morrison Nov 26, 2019
In a Private Facebook Group, California Police Brag About Breaking State Law to Help ICE
Some officers have recently boasted about breaking state law and collaborating with ICE, according to messages posted in the group and obtained by The Appeal.
Darwin BondGraham Nov 22, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: Imagining A Post-Incarceration World
With Danielle Sered of Common Justice
Adam H. Johnson Nov 21, 2019
When Police Violence Is Domestic Violence
Sarah Lustbader Nov 19, 2019
It’s Time to Fight the Democratic Mayors Who Are Champions of the Carceral State
The mayors of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco wrap themselves in the language of progressivism, but when it comes to the criminal legal system they’re Trumpian.
Kelly Hayes Nov 04, 2019
San Francisco Police Brutality Claim Puts Pressure on Next D.A. to Hold Cops Accountable
Ahead of the city’s district attorney election on Tuesday, the alleged baton beating last month of Dacari Spiers has renewed debate over police accountability.
Darwin BondGraham Nov 01, 2019
California Gang Laws Are Normalized Racism
The gang database in the state gives police increased authority to approach and harass people for virtually no reason at all.
Emily Galvin-Almanza Oct 04, 2019
Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus is Running for Office as a Reformer. But Critics Say She Didn’t Do Enough to Reform the SFPD.
Loftus led the San Francisco Police Commission through a bloody and turbulent era.
What Kamala Harris’s Take on Policing Gets Wrong
Rather than encouraging more faith in the police, true reform requires dismantling the system that empowers them.
The Public Safety Myth
Law enforcement’s old guard claims that policing low-level crime protects communities. That’s not just wrong; it’s dangerous.
Rachael Rollins Aug 29, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: Qualified Immunity, A Roadblock to Reform
With Appeal contributors Amir H. Ali and Emily Clark of the MacArthur Justice Center
The Appeal Podcast: NYPD-SVU’s Low Clearance Rate for Sexual Assault
With Appeal contributor Meg O’Connor
Adam H. Johnson May 02, 2019
Party Guests Suing Over Mass Arrest for Less Than An Ounce of Marijuana
Attorneys representing the arrestees in Cartersville, Georgia, say they were mistreated in jail, lost jobs, and endured public humiliation.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 11, 2019
New Study Finds Body Cameras Aren’t Objective Witnesses
People who view body cam footage of an incident are less likely to attribute blame to a police officer than those who see the same incident through the lens of a dashboard camera.
Nicole Wetsman Jan 29, 2019
The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018
Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year.
Dec 27, 2018
‘Things Have Changed’: A New Texas Anti-Immigration Measure Feeds Fear of the Police
SB 4 encourages officers to ask for the status of anyone they detain.
Debbie Nathan Dec 10, 2018
The Appeal Podcast: Black Lives Matter and Racism in the Criminal System
With Angela J. Davis, Appeal contributor and professor of law at American University's Washington College of Law.
Adam H. Johnson Dec 06, 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
An Inside Look At An Ohio Police Force’s Race Problem
A white cop joked about bringing explosives to a Black Lives Matter protest in Columbus with no consequences. A black cop joked about ‘black on black’ crime and may be fired.
George Joseph Aug 13, 2018
Mayors Who Care About Child Separation Should Look in Their Own Backyards
Families are torn apart by the criminal justice system every day.
Josie Duffy Rice Jun 28, 2018
#SwipeItForward & the Decriminalization of Farebeating in New York City
Activists in New York City are engaging in profound acts of resistance against over-policing in the subways. Politicians are listening, but are they really hearing them?
Jocelyn Simonson Aug 30, 2017