The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/tcr-special-report/)
Stories by The Crime Report staff and nationwide network of contributors.
Prosecutors can play the critical role in reforming the justice system—if they’re willing to go beyond their traditional roles as tough law enforcers. In a TCR Special Report, two former prosecutors explain in separate commentaries how that can happen.
A former prosecutor says he is making amends for courtroom actions that “harmed” individuals by working for justice reform. He calls on his former colleagues to join him by changing their focus from getting convictions to achieving fair and humane outcomes.
While members of Congress spar over how much of the big health care law they can kill, on a much smaller scale, the U.S. Justice Department has its own case of a federally funded effort that won’t go away, at least so far this year, no matter how hard lawmakers try.
Texas criminologist William Kelly’s new book calls for a top-to-bottom transformation of a justice system that recycles thousands of Americans without offering them a way to change the behavior that sent them behind bars. He explains his recipe for “disruptive innovation” in a conversation with TCR.
David Muhlhausen, an adjunct at George Mason University and an advocate of empirical research on justice issues, has testified before Congress on policing and prisoner reentry issues. He succeeds Nancy Rodriguez to head the National Institute of Justice, the DOJ’s research arm.
Financial journalist Jesse Eisinger argues in a new book that federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are “broken” systems that allow corporate bosses to evade the criminal consequences of wrongdoing. He explains why in a conversation with TCR.
In a farewell interview before stepping down after 13 years as president of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Jeremy Travis predicts the fear-mongering rhetoric about crime from the current administration won’t slow down reforms at the state and local levels. “The American people are smarter than that,” he says.
A debate over jail expansion in New York’s rural Dutchess County reflects the issues driving the spike in U.S. jail populations, and the arguments about how to address it.
In the final installment of our series following the NYPD’s newest class of cadets, The Crime Report looks at the challenges of American policing, the debate over whether less-aggressive strategies will make our cities safer, and whether new cops can learn to smile.
An experimental project aimed at helping local jurisdictions examine–and correct–mistakes in the justice system will soon be expanded to up to 25 cities and counties. The expansion of the Sentinel Events program amounts to an endorsement by the Justice Department of a major Obama-era reform initiative.