The Crime Report

Viewpoints

Back in the World Again: After 27 Years Behind Bars, Frustration and Joy

By Jeremiah Bourgeois | 8 hours ago

Release from a long incarceration is only the beginning of an often-traumatic transition to civilian life, even with supporting family and friends. TCR’s (former) prison-based columnist suggests a way to make that transition easier.

Drugs

Judges Call for More Court Action on Opioid Crisis

By Ted Gest | 8 hours ago

State courts are the nation’s top referral source for addiction treatment. “It is crucial that judges are involved in reversing this epidemic,” says Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, co-chair of a national task force.

White Collar Crime

Ex-Baltimore Mayor Pugh Charged With Corruption

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was indicted on corruption charges connected to money she received for a series of children’s books she wrote. Most of her “Healthy Holly” books were never given to children as promised.

Crime Trends

Police Accused of Mishandling Transgender Murders

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

At least 22 transgender people killed in 2019 will be honored at Transgender Day of Remembrance vigils on Wednesday.

Policy & Politics

Schumer, Ernst Battle Over Violence Against Women Act

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) accuses Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of halting her bill to thwart her reelection campaign; Schumer says Ernst is “afraid of the NRA.”

Jails

Albany Jail Provides Room for Homeless Non-Criminals

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Albany, N.Y., Sheriff Craig Apple converted 25 jail cells into rooms for people who were homeless, including those struggling with substance-use disorder, whether or not they had been accused of a crime. The move represents a growing—and controversial—trend.

Prisons

Federal Prison Guard Napping Called Ongoing Problem

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

After corrections officers guarding the late financier Jeffrey Epstein were accused of sleeping on the job, new federal prison director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer said other such cases have been reported, and that the agency is replacing its faulty surveillance cameras.

Technology

DOJ Hints At Probe of Big Tech on Encryption

By Crime and Justice News | 14 hours ago

A speech Monday by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen pointed toward heightened interest “end-to-end encryption,” which makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement and spy agencies to get access to people’s digital communications.

Policing

$7M Settlement in NY-CT Wrongful Conviction Case

By Crime and Justice News | 14 hours ago

New York City and New Haven, Ct., agreed to pay $7 million to Derrick Hamilton, who spent more than two decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Detective Louis Scarcella was accused of coercing the only witness.

Prisons

A Look at Pennsylvania's Inmates Serving Long Terms

By Crime and Justice News | 15 hours ago

The state is second only to Florida in the number of inmates serving life terms, 5400 as of last year. The state allowed The Appeal to publish a photo essay on some of the oldest men in the state’s prisons.

Crime Victims

DOJ Grants $183,717 to Texas Church Shooting Victims

Two years after the mass shooting, the U.S. Department of Justice is giving a grant to victims of the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Tx. In the incident, 26 people were fatally shot and 20 others were wounded when an assailant opened fire on worshipers.

White Collar Crime

Money Laundering Expert Bagley is Indicted

University of Miami Prof. Bruce Bagley was arrested on charges of laundering $3 million on behalf of corrupt foreign nationals who collected the illicit funds through bribes and by embezzling from a public works project in Venezuela.

Drugs

Boy Hoped to Smuggle Meth With Remote-Controlled Car

U.S. Border Patrol officers arrested a 16-year-old boy at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine with the help of a remote-control car. It was another instance in a long history of smugglers using ever-evolving, often unusual methods, to get drugs over the border.

Elections 2020

Elizabeth Warren: I’ll Treat Hate Violence as Domestic Terrorism

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ahead of Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate, released a new plan aimed at defeating white nationalist violence. Warren said she would make prosecuting hate crimes a “priority” in her administration.

Jails

Two Fed Corrections Officers Charged in Epstein Suicide

The workers allegedly fell asleep for hours and falsified records to cover up what they had done. The news of the charges comes as an AP investigation found the number of federal corrections officers dropped 11 percent in first two years of the Trump administration.

Research & Analysis

Juvenile Justice

Teens Behind Bars: ‘I Felt Like I Was Losing My Mind’

Texans shunted to adult prison for minor offenses committed when they were teens share vivid stories of their experiences, in a report by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. The state is one of just four that still commit youths as young as 17 to the adult justice system.
Mass Shootings

At least 139 Mass Shooting Incidents ‘Foiled’ Since 2000: Study

A criminologist's count found that the number of planned shooting attacks that have been stopped in the U.S. since 2000 far exceed the 92 "completed" ones.
Drugs

Punishing Pregnant Opioid Users Increases Risks to Newborn: Study

At least 25 states now impose prison or jail terms in an effort to ensure treatment for opioid abusers. But the results can be devastating when the policy is applied to pregnant women, according to a RAND study.
cash register justice

‘Taxation by Citation’: Why Money Won’t Buy Happiness for City Authorities

A study of three Georgia cities which earn over 10 percent of their revenue from municipal citations and traffic tickets found high levels of distrust of authority among residents. The lesson, according to researchers: what a city gains in monetary value is lost in community capital.
Police Misconduct

More than 80 California Cops Convicted of Crime Still On the Job: Report

Nearly 1 in 5 police officers in California convicted of a crime in the last decade are still working or kept their jobs for more than a year after sentencing, according to a coalition of news organization. The state's weak laws on police misconduct were blamed.
Crime Prevention

Do Theme Parks Increase the Risk of Crime?

A study of crime patterns in the neighborhoods surrounding the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando found high concentrations of criminal activity outside a one-mile radius of the park—but lower crime inside the park itself.

WORTH A READ

Reforming the System

‘Disrupting Prison’ Reform Initiative Expands to Six States
By TCR Staff | November 19, 2019
North Dakota, Colorado, and Idaho are the newest states accepted into the "Restoring Promise" program piloted by the Vera Institute of Justice. The program is modeled on incarceration strategies used in Europe that provide less rigid environments for young offenders.
Viewpoints

How Menthol Bans Illustrate the Dangers of ‘Overcriminalization’
By Jonathan Haggerty and Arthur Rizer | November 19, 2019
Proposals to ban sales of menthol cigarettes are the latest examples of a misplaced focus on creating criminal penalties that waste police time, harm minority communities, and detract law enforcement attention from crimes that actually put people’s safety at risk, say R Street researchers.
Crime Trends

New Forecasting Method Shows Inmate Release Won’t Increase Crime, Experts Say
By Ted Gest | November 18, 2019
Two criminologists are developing a more nuanced crime-forecasting method which they argue will demonstrate to state legislators that releasing more prisoners will not lead to more crime. Their method suggests that violent crime rates in the U.S. should remain flat for the next few years.
Elections 2020

Bloomberg Stop-and-Frisk Apology ‘Too Little, Too Late,’ says Union Head
By TCR Staff | November 18, 2019
Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's apology for "stop and frisk" came in for scathing criticism from current Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as the city's police union chief, who accused Bloomberg of inspiring an "anti-police movement."

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.

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White Collar Crime

Ex-Baltimore Mayor Pugh Charged With Corruption

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Crime Trends

Police Accused of Mishandling Transgender Murders

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Policy & Politics

Schumer, Ernst Battle Over Violence Against Women Act

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Jails

Albany Jail Provides Room for Homeless Non-Criminals

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Prisons

Federal Prison Guard Napping Called Ongoing Problem

By Crime and Justice News | 13 hours ago

Technology

DOJ Hints At Probe of Big Tech on Encryption

By Crime and Justice News | 14 hours ago

Policing

$7M Settlement in NY-CT Wrongful Conviction Case

By Crime and Justice News | 14 hours ago

Prisons

A Look at Pennsylvania's Inmates Serving Long Terms

By Crime and Justice News | 15 hours ago

Crime Victims

DOJ Grants $183,717 to Texas Church Shooting Victims

White Collar Crime

Money Laundering Expert Bagley is Indicted

Drugs

Boy Hoped to Smuggle Meth With Remote-Controlled Car

Life Without Parole Term in Brutal PA Killings

PA Death Row Inmates No Longer Held in Solitary

Sweden Drops Rape Investigation of Assange

Illinois Students Locked Up For Minor Incidents