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!
The Florida Times-Union spent more than 20 months examining the causes of juvenile homicide in Jacksonville. A central finding based on listening to the people who committed the crimes, was the critical role played by trauma and other adverse childhood experiences.
Almost all the jail growth in the U.S. since 2000 has been in pretrial incarceration, but in St. Louis County, a program that allows more pretrial defendants to be released under supervision has bucked the trend. It’s been a life-changer for Renita Syas.
At least 31 states now have rules preventing the automatic shackling of juveniles when they are brought to court. But one rural county in Utah hasn’t got the message.
With growing numbers of women incarcerated around the country, some local authorities are developing innovative programs to help ensure they never return once they’re released. Floyd County in southern Indiana opened a jail-based counseling unit this year that appears to hold promise.
Juveniles under the age of 17 will no longer be prosecuted as adults under a state law that went into effect Oct. 1. But since the law isn’t retroactive, thousands of young people arrested earlier are caught in the old system—with potentially devastating consequences, advocates say.
During the 1980s, gun tracing was in vogue, but thanks to changes in federal funding and regulations, many police agencies around the U.S. no longer bother. That can have deadly consequences, a newspaper investigation in South Carolina showed.
Charles Rivers spent 30 years cycling in and out of the justice system. He finally broke the cycle after conquering the demons of his own past, and learning the life skills that he now teaches others.
African-American teens in Pennsylvania’s second-most populous county were 20 times more likely than their white peers to be arrested and charged as adults in 2016 and 2017, according to a newspaper investigation.
New Jersey cops were ordered by state officials almost two decades ago to document all incidents when police used force. A team of reporters built a database after locating the reports and found what they called a “monument to failure.”
Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, federal investigators must conduct audits of prison facilities to monitor compliance with standards aimed at eliminating sexual abuse. But an investigation by WitnessLA suggests the audits leave a lot to be desired.