The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/tcr-special-report/)
Stories by The Crime Report staff and nationwide network of contributors.
When youths are preconditioned to violence and crime, disregard for the law becomes automatic. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targets this “criminal thinking” to reduce crime and recidivism— and give juveniles the opportunity of a productive future.
Today, states spend hundreds of millions on evaluating and restoring the “mental competency” of individuals to stand trial. But such restoration is a far cry from the comprehensive mental health treatment needed by defendants who many experts say should never have been incarcerated in the first place.
As prison law libraries go digital, many inmates are encountering significant barriers to getting the materials they need to pursue their cases. TCR investigates a barrier to justice that has received little attention.
The trafficking of young girls for sex in the U.S. is often overshadowed by the attention paid to the $150 billion international trade. A Crime Report investigation looks at victims and their families in south Florida, now one of the nation’s major human trafficking centers.
With the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh pending, The Crime Report asks legal scholars around the country for their views on the criminal justice challenges the next Court will face.
In Dallas County, the main outlet of psychiatric care for those with mental illness is no longer the corrections system. A five-year initiative using predictive technology is helping to divert justice-involved mentally ill individuals into effective treatment programs.
The ACLU has filed suit in Kansas, alleging that the state has failed to give defendants sufficient opportunity to benefit from diversion programs. But a TCR investigation finds many experts who argue that the effectiveness of such programs depends on how well they are executed.
A 1997 federal court agreement, known as the Flores Settlement, limits the government’s ability to keep undocumented immigrant families detained for extended periods. No surprise that it’s a prime target of the Trump administration.
Stress is an occupational hazard for lawyers, driving some to alcoholism and substance abuse. But when public defenders succumb, it can also affect the right of the poorest individuals to a fair trial, a Crime Report investigation finds.
The #MeToo era has improved the climate for prosecuting accused sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. But according to experts, the legal hurdles to conviction remain formidable.