The Crime Report

Race and Equity

DOJ Calls for New Research on Racial Disparities in the Justice System

By Amy L. Solomon | 15 hours ago

After a three-year hiatus, the feds are reviving W.E.B. Du Bois grants to fund research into the disproportional impact of the justice system on Black Americans. “Until we gain a firmer grasp on what lies behind these stubborn and pernicious disparities, we are doomed to see them repeated,” writes Amy L. Solomon, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs.

Viewpoints

Minnesota’s ‘Shadow Prison’ for Sex Offenders

By Derek W. Logue | 15 hours ago

Courts have upheld using civil commitment to keep convicted sex offenders detained long beyond the end of their court-issued sentences. But a burgeoning movement in Minnesota, which has the nation’s highest per capita rate of civil commitment, is challenging that.

Organized Crime

COVID Spurs 'Scourge' of Organized Crime: Report

By Nancy Bilyeau | 15 hours ago

The majority of people worldwide live in countries with high levels of organized crime, a crisis made worse by COVID-19, according to an index released Tuesday by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Justice and Health

Resignations, Refusals Mount as Cops Resist Vaccine Mandates

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Nearly 20 percent of Massachusetts State Police employees remain unvaccinated and now face termination as dozens of their fellow officers resign. It’s the latest indication of widespread defiance, as COVID becomes the leading cause of death among U.S. police.

Policy & Politics

Illinois Lawmakers Weigh Voting Rights for People Behind Bars

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

The proposed amendment to the current law hinges on a section that says a person’s voting rights shall be restored “not later than” completion of their sentence.

Drugs

L.A. County DA Dismisses 60,000 Past Marijuana Convictions

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office is moving to dismiss roughly 60,000 marijuana convictions, the latest step to undo what some reform advocates consider the damage caused by narcotics enforcement carried out before Californians voted to legalize marijuana.

Cybercrime

Lack of Cyber Security Workers Leaves State Governments Vulnerable

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

States and cities can’t compete with the private sector in hiring cybersecurity workers, making them vulnerable to attack.

Justice and Health

Wisconsin Teen's COVID Post Protected by First Amendment: Judge

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Comparing the case to free speech battles involving Vietnam war protesters, Milwaukee judge Brett Ludwig ruled that a sheriff violated free speech protections when he asked a teen to remove an Instagram post about Covid-19 that “upset” local parents.

Immigration

Biden Administration Maneuvers to Protect Dreamers

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

In an effort to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program first launched in 2012, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would move an estimated 700,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children to the back of the line to be deported.

Crime Statistics

Record One-Year Homicide Increase in 2020 Linked to COVID

By TCR Staff | 17 hours ago

Since last year’s spike in murders, coinciding with the height of the pandemic, murder rates have significantly declined and overall crime has continued to drop.

Immigration

Southwest Georgia ICE Detention Center Records 1,006 COVID Cases

In addition to surpassing the 1,000-case threshold, the facility remains the leader nationwide in COVID-related deaths.

Crime

R. Kelly Faces More Court Dates After NY Racketeering Conviction

The R&B singer also faces charges in Chicago and Minnesota after being found guilty of racketeering and violating the Mann Act.

Policing

Miami Police Chief Battles with City Over ‘Cuban Mafia’ Charge

Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo, just months into a new appointment, is locked in a tug-of-war over firing of a deputy. He has compared the Miami commissioners’ actions to those of Communist Cuba.

Crime

Rundown D.C. Properties Called Oases for Violence and Criminality

Squalid and dangerous conditions at mismanaged D.C.- area apartment complexes are driving up gun violence in the District, reports Axios.

Prisons

Federal Bureau of Prisons Abuses Inmate Privacy: Report

Over the past two years, dozens of facilities across the Federal Bureau of Prisons have adopted policies of photocopying mail and withholding the originals from their recipients, raising novel privacy concerns, an investigation by The Intercept has found.

Research & Analysis

women and justice

Women ‘Lifers’ and the Gender Trap

The number of women serving life terms in prison has risen by 43 percent since 2008. Many of them might have received different sentencing outcomes if courts took account of the role played by trauma and abuse in their crimes, says the Sentencing Project.
Science & Technology

Electronic Monitoring ‘Sets People Up to Fail’: Study

A two-year study by the George Washington University Law School concludes that the use of ankle bracelets and other forms of electronic monitoring “undermines the ability of people to survive and thrive.”
Juvenile Justice

Will New Education Funding End School-to-Prison Pipeline?

The promise of $122 billion in federal stimulus funds for education reform comes at a critical moment, when the pandemic has aggravated the already “enormous challenges” faced by at-risk youth, says a Sentencing Project report.
Crime Statistics

Homicides Increased at Slower Rate in 2021: PERF

According to a survey of 157 police agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum, the total number of homicides increased by 12 percent in the first seven months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020. That represented more than half the increase recorded in a similar period between 2020 and 2019. Carjackings also increased and robberies continued to decline.
women and justice

Shackling Pregnant Prisoners Should Be Against Federal Law: Paper

Two scholars argue that restraining incarcerated pregnant women poses health and development risks to both mothers and babies.
Courts

Has the Pandemic Killed Jury Trials?

Exacerbated by the pandemic, the nationwide decline of jury trials is threatening to derail citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed access to impartial justice, according to the assistant county attorney in Harris County, Texas.

WORTH A READ

women and justice

Confronting Femicide in America
By TCR Staff | September 27, 2021
Widespread gendered violence in the U.S. has been hiding in plain sight for years. Anecdotal evidence suggests the problem has gotten worse during the lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 epidemic.
Crime Prevention

Stopping Gun Violence, One Youth at a Time
By Julie Reynolds Martinez/The Imprint | September 27, 2021
A California farm town fights youth violence aided by a police-community outreach program that gives violent young men “a legitimate opportunity to participate in society in a meaningful way,” in the words of the local police chief.
Policing

Attorneys General in Three States Move to Increase Police Accountability
By TCR Staff | September 27, 2021
Attorneys general in Illinois, Colorado and California have sought court-ordered overhauls of local police departments. The moves are in response to the perception that the federal government cannot address the nationwide issue of policing on its own, underlined by the failure last week to win bipartisan Congressional approval for a national police reform bill.
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Faces Eroding Public Support
By TCR Staff | September 27, 2021
As a presidential commission examines the future of the Court, criticism is mounting from the left and right that justices are too political, too powerful and serve for too long. Surveys show public approval is plummeting.

Featured

Bill Moyers on Justice

By TCR Staff | December 1, 2017

Moyers was honored as TCR’s 2018 “Justice Media Trailblazer.” Watch the video of his remarks at the Feb 15, 2018 John Jay College dinner here.

The Crime Report - Your Complete Criminal Justice Resource

Policy & Politics

Illinois Lawmakers Weigh Voting Rights for People Behind Bars

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Drugs

L.A. County DA Dismisses 60,000 Past Marijuana Convictions

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Cybercrime

Lack of Cyber Security Workers Leaves State Governments Vulnerable

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Justice and Health

Wisconsin Teen's COVID Post Protected by First Amendment: Judge

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Immigration

Biden Administration Maneuvers to Protect Dreamers

By TCR Staff | 16 hours ago

Crime Statistics

Record One-Year Homicide Increase in 2020 Linked to COVID

By TCR Staff | 17 hours ago

Immigration

Southwest Georgia ICE Detention Center Records 1,006 COVID Cases

Crime

R. Kelly Faces More Court Dates After NY Racketeering Conviction

Policing

Miami Police Chief Battles with City Over ‘Cuban Mafia’ Charge

Crime

Rundown D.C. Properties Called Oases for Violence and Criminality

Prisons

Federal Bureau of Prisons Abuses Inmate Privacy: Report

Nonprofits Step Into Gap on State Justice Reforms

Man Who Shot Ronald Reagan Freed on ‘Unconditional Release’

North Dakota Tribes Confront Detroit Drug Pipeline

U.S. Envoy to Haiti Quits Over ‘Inhumane’ Deportations