The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/focus/)
This section features the best criminal justice reporting around the nation, produced by our media partners and collaborators, and journalists who have participated in the Criminal Justice Reporting Fellowship programs sponsored by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, TCR’s parent organization. For a more comprehensive list of Fellows’ work, please check out the “programs” section—and monitor this site for information on upcoming programs and how to apply!
In Pennsylvania, court fees and surcharges provide “back door funding” for cash-strapped state and county budgets, while saddling the poorest defendants with escalating debt, a news investigation finds.
Revenue from fines and fees has become an alternative to tax revenue for many local governments. But for poor people like Maleah Hartnett, accumulating court debt is a crushing burden.
The state’s pretrial substance abuse program gives defendants the chance to avoid a criminal record if they agree to spend six months in custody. But justice experts acknowledge it’s not necessarily the best choice for everyone.
Like many towns and cities around the country, New Orleans has been funding its criminal court largely from fines and fees assessed on people who can least afford it. Critics recently won an agreement from the city to increase funding, but judges say they won’t change their practices without a mandate from the state legislature.
“When you take away a person’s license, you kind of take away their ability to provide for their family,” says Matt Holland, one of the staggering number of Americans who are penalized because they can’t afford to pay their court costs.
As Domestic Violence Awareness Month drew to a close in October, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to explore reimbursing the cost of forensic tests for DV survivors. That’s a critical step forward towards addressing a rising problem in California, and elsewhere.
Felipe Franco, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s point person overseeing the rollout of the juvenile justice reform known as “Raise the Age,” will join the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Before leaving office, former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a sweeping act restructuring court fines and fees across the state. But critics, including the legislator who sponsored the bill, say it still falls short of lawmakers’ intentions to create a fairer system.
The bail bond industry is under attack from all sides of the political spectrum. A lawsuit filed in St. Louis by the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation says the industry violates constitutional protections.
A six-month investigation of South Carolina officer-involved shootings over the past decade by The Greenville News revealed shortcomings in the use of police bodycams and failures to report incidents to the state office responsible for investigating them. The victims were disproportionately African Americans, the paper said.