The Crime Report

TCR Special Reports

‘This Cannot Be My Life’: The 'Nightmare' of Foster Care in Indian Country

By Suzette Brewer | 6 hours ago

Brian Melendez was one of thousands of Native children swept into a state-run foster care system riddled with abuse and neglect. He beat the odds by becoming a probation officer and then a counselor on a Nevada reservation, where he helps young people deal with the trauma suffered at the hands of a deeply flawed justice system for Native Americans.

Reforming the System

Los Angeles County to Help Families of Cop-Shooting Victims

By Andrea Cipriano | 6 hours ago

The “family assistance program” approved by the county board of supervisors this month will provide financial assistance and counselling. Board members said the program aimed to help those who had received “incomplete or contradictory information about the death of their loved ones.”

Policing

New York Governor, Mayor Lambast Feds Over Garner Decision

By Brian Demo | 6 hours ago

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio both criticized the Justice Department’s decision not to file charges against the New York City cop linked to the chokehold death of Eric Garner in 2014. But they differed over how aggressive the response should be.

Sex Crime

Judge Keeps Jeffrey Epstein in Jail on Sex Charges

By TCR Staff | 6 hours ago

The financier had asked to be placed on house arrest in his New York City home, and offered to pay for private armed guards there. Federal Judge Richard Berman had expressed skepticism about the proposal.

Drugs

Highest Opioid Death Rates Were in WVA, KY, VA

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Death rates from opioids soared in towns, cities and counties that were saturated with billions of prescription pain pills from 2006 through 2012, according to federal data and a database of opioid shipments made public this week and analyzed by the Washington Post.

Drugs

Overdose Deaths Down, First Drop in Decades

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures show that nearly 68,000 drug overdose deaths were reported last year. The number may go up as more investigations are completed, but the agency expects the tally will end up below 69,000. Overdose deaths had been climbing each year since 1990.

Drugs

Cruz: Make 'El Chapo' Pay for Mexican Wall

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says President Donald Trump is “enthusiastic” about his idea of using any assets of convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán and other drug lords to pay for construction of a wall at the Mexican border.

Jails

Dozens of California Jails 'Broken and Dangerous'

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

The state’s 2011 “realignment” policy shifted many state inmates to county jails and provided $2.1 billion to fix antiquated jails. Eight years later, only 11 of 65 construction projects are finished.

Prisons

Warden of NY Jail That Lost Heat Is Promoted

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Herman Quay, former warden of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, has been promoted to oversee three federal prisons. An aide to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler calls the move “certainly not acceptable.”

White Collar Crime

Prosecutors End Probe on Trump Campaign Finance

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Prosecutors concluded their investigation into campaign finance violations involving President Donald Trump and must publicly release some of their files. It was not clear if any more charges would be filed.

Policing

Oakland Bans Facial Recognition Technology

The California city becomes the third, after San Francisco and Somerville, Ma., to prohibit municipal departments from using software its council president calls “flawed” and “biased.”

Sex Crime

Accuser Won’t Testify, Spacey Groping Case Dropped

Massachusetts prosecutors dropped a case accusing Kevin Spacey of groping a young man at a Nantucket bar in 2016 after the accuser refused to testify about a missing cellphone the defense says contains information supporting the actor’s claims of innocence.

Research & Analysis

Sex Crime

Do Changing Federal Priorities Explain Drop in Child Sex Trafficking Cases?

Federal prosecutions for sex trafficking of children declined 26.7 percent over the past year, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The decline raises questions about whether the administration’s focus on the issue has slipped.
Corrections & Reentry

Reforms to Post-Prison Technical Violations Passed in 30 States

More than one in four admissions to state prisons are individuals who have violated “technical” terms of their parole or probation. The state legislative efforts will help reduce mass incarceration, reports the Pew Public Safety Performance Project.
Guns

Youth Gun Deaths Lower in Background-Check States

In a new study, researchers found that firearm-related deaths among young people are 35 percent lower in states where mandatory background checks have been required for at least five years. More than 21,000 people under 21 died from gun injuries between 2011 and 2015.
Cybercrime

Cyberbullying Rises Among Young Adults: Federal Report

A new study from the National Center for Education Statistics has found that online bullying is becoming more prevalent among middle and high school students, even though overall bullying has declined in the past few years.
Mental Health

Study: High Rates of Mental Health Issues Found in Michigan Prison Workers

According to a study of the Michigan Department of Corrections, prison workers are more likely to show symptoms of depression and anxiety or suicidal ideation than even first responders or members of the military.
Reforming the System

‘Confirmation Bias’ Called a Key Reason for Wrongful Convictions

Why do innocent people go to jail? Two Texas State University professors argue that procedural mistakes like eyewitness misidentification and flawed forensic evidence are compounded by a common human failing: once we come to a conclusion about an issue, we rarely pay attention to evidence that might contradict it.

WORTH A READ

Race and Equity

Bias Training Held Not Sufficient to Eliminate Police, Prosecutor Misconduct
By Lauren Sonnenberg | July 17, 2019
More proactive efforts, such as explicitly telling eyewitnesses at a police lineup that a perpetrator may not be present, targets the kinds of practices that have led to wrongful convictions, says a Stanford University researcher.
Wrongful Convictions

In Exonerations, How You Communicate Matters
By Robert Norris and Kevin Mullinix | July 17, 2019
Which is more powerful: a good story, or a telling statistic? The success of the recent documentary on the Central Park 5 suggests effective storytelling can change public attitudes, but that might not be enough to change public policy, according to two scholars.
Books

Inside the Minds of Men Who Murder
By David J. Krajicek | July 16, 2019
In his new book, TCR contributing editor David Krajicek explores the written and recorded leavings of mass killers. In this excerpt, he describes some of their common characteristics, including a “pseudocommando mindset” and “heroic revenge fantasy.”
Fed Decision in Garner Case Adds ‘Insult to Injury,’ says His Mom
By TCR Staff | July 16, 2019
The mother of Eric Garner angrily condemned Tuesday's decision by the Justice Department for not bringing charges against New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in her son's chokehold death. The decision ended a long inquiry into a case that sharply divided officials and prompted national protests over excessive force by the police.

Featured

Bill Moyers Speaks Out on Justice. Watch the Video.

By TCR Staff | December 1, 2017

Moyers received TCR’s annual “Justice Trailblazer” award at a John Jay College dinner Feb. 15. See the video of his remarks here.

The Crime Report - Your Complete Criminal Justice Resource

Drugs

Highest Opioid Death Rates Were in WVA, KY, VA

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Drugs

Overdose Deaths Down, First Drop in Decades

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Drugs

Cruz: Make 'El Chapo' Pay for Mexican Wall

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Jails

Dozens of California Jails 'Broken and Dangerous'

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Prisons

Warden of NY Jail That Lost Heat Is Promoted

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

White Collar Crime

Prosecutors End Probe on Trump Campaign Finance

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Policing

Oakland Bans Facial Recognition Technology

Sex Crime

Accuser Won’t Testify, Spacey Groping Case Dropped

Courts

NJ Judge Who Favored Assault Defendant Steps Down

Crime Victims

FL Jury Awards $700M to Murder Victim’s Family

Organized Crime

El Chapo Gets Life in Prison, Forfeits $12 Billion in Drug Profits

76 Billion Pain Pills in Six Years, Database Shows

Chicago Mayor Fears ‘We’re Losing the Streets’

$400K Settlement in S.F. Police Shooting Case

‘Maverick’ Justice John Paul Stevens Dies at 99