The Crime Report

Policy & Politics

Do The Nation's Prosecutors Need Help?

By Ted Gest | 3 hours ago

As national attention focuses on prosecutors’ role in the justice system, and as more reform DAs win office, they could benefit from up-to-date research to help them make decisions, especially on many lower-level criminal cases that don’t necessarily warrant a prison term, a Washington DC panel was told Thursday.

Corrections & Reentry

Moms Play Critical Role in Reducing Recidivism: Study

By TCR Staff | 3 hours ago

While research has shown that family visits to incarcerated individuals can reduce recidivism, a recent study in the Criminal Justice and Behavior journal suggests that the quality of inmates’ relationships with their mothers is one of the best predictors of whether they will re-offend.

Policing

Experts Link Mental Health Issues to Spike in Honolulu Police Shootings

By TCR Staff | 3 hours ago

The number of police-involved fatal shootings in 2018 has doubled to six, the most ever in recent history, prompting concern among criminal justice experts about whether they’re seeing an overall trend of more violence in the Aloha State.

U.S. Department of Justice

Dissent, Infighting Said to Be Rife at Sessions' DOJ

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

“I can’t recall a time when morale has been as low as I have heard from some former colleagues,” said Robert Litt, a DOJ official during the Clinton administration.

Sex Crime

Feds Probe 'Secret Archives' in PA Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Investigators will issue subpoenas to dioceses across Pennsylvania in what’s called an unprecedented investigation, following up on a scathing grand jury report finding that more than 1,000 children had been abused by priests. “It’s something we always wished for but thought would never happen,” said Judy Jones of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “

Prisons

4,000 CA Three-Strikes Inmates Have Parole Chance

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Thousands of California inmates serving life sentences for nonviolent convictions will have a chance at parole under the state’s decision to let stand a judge’s ruling saying those prisoners are eligible for freedom under a voter-approved law, The change results from the 2016 Proposition 57, which was designed to reduce the prison population.

Media

How Cleveland.com Respects 'Right to be Forgotten'

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

Cleveland.com editor Chris Quinn has changed the site’s policy of automatically using mugshots (“the worst photos people will ever take”) with minor crime stories. It no longer names perpetrators of minor crimes. The site is also launching an effort to review individuals’ requests to remove their names from old stories.

Juvenile Justice

WA Court Halts Juvenile Life Without Parole Terms

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

In a 5-to-4 ruling, the Washington Supreme Court said a life sentence for juveniles convicted of aggravated murder constitutes cruel punishment and is unconstitutional. The case involved a 16-year-old who fatally shot his parents and drowned a five-year-old brother.

FBI

FBI Agent Gets Four-Year Term for Leaking

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

Terry Albury, 39, of Minneapolis, admitted leaking national defense material because he was unhappy about the FBI’s treatment of minorities. He is the second to be sentenced in a Trump administration crackdown on leaks.

Policing

Fort Worth's Joel Fitzgerald Eyed as Baltimore Top Cop

By Crime and Justice News | 8 hours ago

Fort Worth, Tx., police chief Joel Fitzgerald will be Baltimore’s selection for the city’s next police commissioner, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told Dallas media. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh refused to confirm Fitzgerald’s selection.

Guns

Boston Officer Sues Online Gun Marketplace

Kurt Stokinger, a nine-year police veteran, sued Armslist.com, the online marketplace where the gun used to shoot him in 2016 was sold, alleging it lacks necessary safeguards to prevent weapons from getting into the wrong hands.

Russia Probe

Mueller’s Report May Disappoint Trump Critics

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report may never see the light of day. Says one expert on such investigations: “Mueller is a criminal investigator. He’s not government oversight, and he’s not a historian.”

Drugs

More Car Crashes In States With Legal Marijuana

Two studies find that vehicle accidents rose in four states that have legalized recreational pot. The issue is up for a vote in Michigan and North Dakota next month.

Child Abuse

Appeals Court Limits Texas Foster Care Reforms

A federal appeals panel ruled 2-to-1 that Texas wrongly exposed children in foster care to physical and psychological harm but said remedies ordered by a federal trial judge went too far.

Immigration

Trump Threatens Military Call-Up to Close Mexican Border

The president expressed mounting frustration with a large caravan of migrants from Honduras that has been making its way toward the U.S. The number of migrant parents entering the U.S. has surged to record levels in the three months since President Trump ended family separations at the border.

Research & Analysis

Courts

Are Witnesses Still Needed in Modern Trials?

Not really, say two law professors. They argue in a Texas Law Review article that it’s time to rethink the centuries-old traditions of Western jurisprudence that have made witnesses the centerpiece of criminal and civil trials—and replace them with more dependable ways of arriving at the truth.
Reforming the System

Texas Jail System ‘Defective’ Says Report

The flaws in the state's justice system cycle thousands of people through jails with little effort to address the roots of their behavior, says the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. "The most important thing we can do is divert people charged with low level offenses from jail and connect them with recovery support as soon as possible," said the co-author of a new study.
Juvenile Justice

Young People in Adult Facilities Still ‘At Risk,’ says Youth Justice Group

In a report examining state compliance with standards set by the Prison Rape Elimination Act for the detention of young people, the Campaign For Youth Justice argues that “loopholes” in implementation of the standards still leave many youths vulnerable to sexual or physical assault.
Reforming the System

Reinventing Justice: Case Studies in New Thinking

Can local justice systems prevent people who shouldn’t be detained from ending up behind bars? Sometimes all it takes is smarter communications, according to a study of an electronic alert system devised by Durham County authorities in North Carolina—one of six case studies released by the Urban Institute on promising reforms underway around the U.S.
Reforming the System

Tennessee Program Helps Rural Women Avoid Jail

Most common alternatives to incarceration are failing women and rural communities as they traditionally focus on men and nonrural jurisdictions, but a case study by the Urban Institute examines innovative approaches to meeting the need.
Policing

Police-Civilian Contacts Dip, Blacks More Likely to Experience Physical Force: Study

The number of U.S. residents who had some form of encounter with police dropped from 26 percent in 2011 to 21 percent in 2015, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics study. But criminologist Rick Rosenfeld says the data doesn’t necessarily support the so-called “Ferguson Effect” theory that police are withdrawing services in response to anti-cop protests.

WORTH A READ

Reforming the System

Women Ignored in Incarceration Reform, says New York Panel
By J. Gabriel Ware | October 18, 2018
Women are the fastest-growing population in U.S. jails, but the "damage" this has wreaked on families has been largely ignored, a conference launching a seven-year initiative aimed at reducing female incarceration in New York City was told Wednesday.
TCR Special Reports

A Pre-Election Primer: Criminal Justice and the Midterms
By J. Gabriel Ware | October 17, 2018
Victims’ rights, gun violence and—no surprise— marijuana legalization are among the criminal justice issues appearing on state ballots in next month’s midterm elections. Here’s why you should pay attention to the outcomes.
Drugs

Cabbages and Basketballs: How Do Drugs Enter Our Prisons?
By Norris Z. McManus | October 17, 2018
The standard PR “spin” from prison authorities around the U.S. blames ingenious schemes by prisoners for drug smuggling into facilities, but recent arrests of guards in Georgia offer a clue to where the biggest problem lies, writes a former inmate.
Probation and Parole

Five Ex-NYC Commissioners Call for End to Pot Testing of Probationers
By TCR Staff | October 16, 2018
Marijuana testing for individuals on probation and parole serves “little public safety purpose” and should be stopped—even in states where pot has still not been legalized, five former New York City probation commissioners said Tuesday in testimony to the New York State Assembly.

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

U.S. Department of Justice

Dissent, Infighting Said to Be Rife at Sessions' DOJ

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Sex Crime

Feds Probe 'Secret Archives' in PA Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Prisons

4,000 CA Three-Strikes Inmates Have Parole Chance

By Crime and Justice News | 6 hours ago

Media

How Cleveland.com Respects 'Right to be Forgotten'

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

Juvenile Justice

WA Court Halts Juvenile Life Without Parole Terms

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

FBI

FBI Agent Gets Four-Year Term for Leaking

By Crime and Justice News | 7 hours ago

Policing

Fort Worth's Joel Fitzgerald Eyed as Baltimore Top Cop

By Crime and Justice News | 8 hours ago

Guns

Boston Officer Sues Online Gun Marketplace

Russia Probe

Mueller’s Report May Disappoint Trump Critics

Drugs

More Car Crashes In States With Legal Marijuana

Child Abuse

Appeals Court Limits Texas Foster Care Reforms

Immigration

Trump Threatens Military Call-Up to Close Mexican Border

Immigrants Without Criminal Records In Fear of ICE Arrests

After Killings, Baltimore Moves More Officers to Streets

Sessions Touts Rise in U.S. Violent Crime, Gun Cases

How Richmond, Va., Has Raised Murder Clearance Rate