The Crime Report

Reforming the System

Want Justice Reform? Try Adopting Common ‘Values,’ Symposium Told

By TCR Staff | May 24, 2019

The state, county and municipal systems in charge of administering justice for millions of Americans are not as separate as they think they are. Agreeing on shared ‘transformational values’ might help fix the problems they have in common, an American University symposium concluded.

Drugs

Opioid Maker Teva Settles Oklahoma Case for $85M

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Two days before trial, opioid manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and a group of corporately linked companies agreed to pay $85 million to settle their portion of a lawsuit in which they and other drug companies were accused of creating a multibillion-dollar public nuisance that led to thousands of Oklahoma deaths and addictions.

Cybercrime

Malware Used in Cyberattacks Developed by NSA

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Using a tool called EternalBlue that was developed at the National Security Agency, extortionists have targeted city government computer systems in Baltimore, San Antonio and Allentown, Pa.

Guns

FOP's Canterbury In Line for ATF Nomination

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Chuck Canterbury, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, will be nominated to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He has been under consideration for several months after the group supported the White House-backed First Step Act.

Violence

New Chicago Mayor Grapples With City's Crime

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

New Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot inherits a city with persistent violence and shootings. Through May 19, Chicago recorded 162 slayings, 23 fewer than the year-earlier period. A big part of her first week in office involved preparing for Memorial Day weekend shootings.

Immigration

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Wall Construction

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

A federal judge in San Francisco blocked President Trump from building key sections of his border wall in New Mexico and Arizona with money obtained via his declaration of a national emergency, delivering at least a temporary setback to one of his highest priorities.

Media

S.F. Chief Apologizes for Raids on Journalist

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott apologized for raiding a journalist’s home and office in a bid to unmask a confidential source, admitting the searches were probably illegal and calling for an independent investigation into the episode.

Mental Health

Trail Stabbing Issue: Can Disturbed People Be Stopped?

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

James Jordan is charged with killing a hiker on the Appalachian Trail. A “trail angel” moved him away temporarily, but should he have been committed?

Homicide

WI Man Gets Life Without Parole for Murders, Kidnapping

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Jake Patterson, the Wisconsin man who kidnapped 13-year-old Jayme Closs and murdered her parents, was described as “the embodiment of evil” as a judge condemned him to spend the rest of his days in prison.

Prisoner Reentry

College-Level Education for Prisoners is the ‘Fourth Pillar’ of Reentry: Study

By Andrea Cipriano | May 24, 2019

A study of North Carolina’s “Pathways” program, one of several pilot projects launched by the federal government to provide college-level classes to incarcerated individuals, offered some positive reviews—with some reservations.

Immigration

Overworked, Understaffed Immigration Courts Face 900,000-Case Backlog

A TRAC analysis found immigration hearings in some large cities were scheduled between two and three years away because not enough judges were being hired. One Houston immigration judge is grappling with a caseload of 9,048.

Drugs

Big Opioid Trial Set for Tuesday in Oklahoma

Barring a settlement, it will be the first time Americans will hear the full scope of arguments in any of the lawsuits claiming that false and aggressive marketing by U.S. painkiller manufacturers caused an opioid overdose crisis that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says killed nearly 218,000 Americans between 1999 and 2017.

Policing

Police Drop Opposition to Revised CA Use of Force Bill

Major law enforcement organizations dropped opposition to California legislation that strengthens standards for when officers can use deadly force. The measure would bar police from using lethal force unless it is “necessary” to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to officers or bystanders.

Research & Analysis

Reforming the System

Inconvenient Truths: Why False Confessions Still Warp U.S. Justice

Research shows how easy it is for people to be pressured into admitting crimes they didn’t commit. But, unless DNA proves them wrong, most people in the justice system won’t “consider the likelihood that a confession is false,” writes the director of the Miami Law Innocence Clinic in a new paper.
Drugs

Latest Product for Sale on the Dark Web: Fentanyl

The shadowy virtual department store known as the “dark web” is emerging as an outlet for sizeable flows of the chemical-based opioid, a study by Australian researchers found.
Crime Prevention

Better Nighttime Lighting Cuts Crime, NYC Study Says

Powerful flood lights placed at 40 public-housing developments across the city led to as much as a 59 percent nighttime drop in serious crime, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study.
privatization

How Private Prison Services Control a ‘Captive’ Market

As justice systems across the U.S. cope with strained budgets, private companies have stepped in to offer a wide range of services once provided by authorities. A new study asks whether the “monopoly power” of these firms is exploiting the people they’re meant to serve.
Reforming the System

‘Substantial’ Federal Prison Reform Still Needed: Report

Calling the First Step Act an "important accomplishment," the Urban Institute says "substantial reform work remains to be done," as outlined by the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections.
Justice and Health

Police Play ‘Outsized’ Role in Transporting People with Severe Mental Illness: Survey

Law enforcement officers around the U.S. spend nearly a quarter of their time shuttling individuals suffering a mental health crisis to treatment centers—which not only diverts them from public safety responsibilities, but further criminalizes mental illness, a new survey concludes.

WORTH A READ

cash register justice

Suspended Driver’s Licenses Snare New York’s Poorest Citizens
By Marsha McLeod/Investigative Post | May 23, 2019
A state crackdown on driving without a license is making criminals out of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, and straining court systems—with no discernible benefit to public safety, say lawyers and researchers.
Policing

Is the Warrior Cop a Myth?
By Isidoro Rodriguez | May 22, 2019
The debate about policing today has focused on what many believe is the growing militarization of U.S. law enforcement. But in a conversation with TCR, the author of a new book on policing says that simplifies a much more complex problem.
Science & Technology

GEDmatch Puts DNA Database Off-Limits to Police: Will Cold Cases Get Colder?
By TCR Staff | May 22, 2019
Fears that DNA tracing through commercial geneology sites can falsely implicate innocent people in crimes have spurred one of the most popular sites to slap on restrictions. Cops aren’t happy.
Reforming the System

Black Americans Say Justice System is Racially Biased, National Problem
By Megan Hadley | May 22, 2019
A new report by the Pew Research Center showed 87 percent of black Americans believe the criminal justice system is racially biased and a national problem, whereas only 61 percent of white Americans agree.

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

Opioid Maker Teva Settles Oklahoma Case for $85M

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Cybercrime

Malware Used in Cyberattacks Developed by NSA

By Crime and Justice News | 10 hours ago

Guns

FOP's Canterbury In Line for ATF Nomination

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Violence

New Chicago Mayor Grapples With City's Crime

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Immigration

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Wall Construction

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Media

S.F. Chief Apologizes for Raids on Journalist

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Mental Health

Trail Stabbing Issue: Can Disturbed People Be Stopped?

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Homicide

WI Man Gets Life Without Parole for Murders, Kidnapping

By Crime and Justice News | May 25, 2019

Drugs

Big Opioid Trial Set for Tuesday in Oklahoma

Policing

Police Drop Opposition to Revised CA Use of Force Bill

Terrorism

After Lindh Release, FBI Calls Terrorism Threats ‘High Tempo’

National Security

Assange Charged With Espionage; Is He a Journalist?

Women Sue Police Over Failures in Sex Assault Cases

$44 Million Deal Reached in Weinstein Sex Lawsuits

Trump Boosts Barr Power Over Intelligence Agencies

Inmate Acquitted in Delaware Prison Riot Case