Investigations
Baltimore’s homicide clearance rate is rising, but arrests for murder remain flat
Murders have declined and the mayor calls the city a model for violence reduction. But arrests for murder have largely remained the same.
Tag criminal-justice-reform
Investigations
Bail Is A Longstanding Problem in Baltimore. Is Maryland Searching For A Solution?
Maryland's pre-trial population has increased since bail reform was enacted in 2017. But Illinois has a reform model that might work for the state.
Commentary
Democratic Pundits Have A Pernicious Crime Problem
They say fact-checking perceptions of crime is a fool's errand because they're rooted in vibes. But they ignore that the vibes are coming from somewhere: media.
Investigations
California Lets Defendants Challenge Racism In Court. Few Have Succeeded.
A Garrison Project and CalMatters analysis of the Racial Justice Act found about a dozen successful cases in which judges took action on racial bias in the legal process.
Investigations
Baltimore Residents Held In Jail At Higher Rates Than Before Bail Reform
A 2017 state bail reform effort led to a paradox: use of cash bail has plummeted, but most initial appearances end in a bail denial.
Commentary
The Biggest Myth About the 1994 Crime Bill Still Haunts Joe Biden. It Shouldn’t.
The law is routinely blamed for a very real problem it had nothing to do with.
Investigations
Feds Closed a Prison Notorious for Abuse. Things Only Got Worse
Dozens of women were assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, before it was shut down. Now, prisoners are facing “mass retaliation and bullying”
Commentary
A Potent Weapon For State Legislatures To Undermine Reform Prosecutors
Preemption is being used by red and blue states alike to roll back the power of reform prosecutors.
Features
Harris County had big plans to reform its criminal justice system. What went wrong?
Features
Though they once applauded the jail’s federal reforms, community groups and political leaders in New Orleans oppose a key mandate: the construction of a $109 million mental health jail.
Investigations
The short history and long tail of “zero tolerance” policing in Baltimore.
Investigations
Does The Allegheny County DA's Criminal Justice Strategy Unfairly Punish Black people?
An analysis of the county's criminal court cases shows that Black people have been prosecuted by the DA’s office at 5.8 times the rate of white people, and charged with felonies more frequently.
Investigations
"We establish our own probable cause," a District Action Team officer said in a piece of video footage captured after a 2022 arrest.
Features
This Cop Unleashed A Reign Of Terror, Say The Wrongfully Accused
For years, people in Raleigh were arrested for heroin possession—without having the drug. Now, they’re demanding answers
Features
The Quiet Political Rise of David Sacks, Silicon Valley’s Prophet of Urban Doom
Like his pals Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, Sacks is using his wealth and online clout to unite conservatives and former leftists in a reactionary movement against liberalism.
Commentary
What the San Francisco DA Recall Really Tells Us. And What it Doesn’t.
The city's demographics mattered, as did Chesa Boudin's outsider status. But the politics of punishment are still too complicated to draw a neat conclusion.
Commentary
Hochul’s Regressive Bail Rollbacks Untethered From Evidence
The bail reform debate turns on data from data from New York State’s Office of Court Administration. But that data cannot answer the question of whether reform works.
Commentary
The Real Reason Democrats Can't Agree On How To Address Rising Crime
The criminal legal reform divide is between moderate mayors and progressive prosecutors.
Commentary
Eric Adams’ “Blueprint To End Gun Violence” Is a Trojan Horse
The New York Mayor’s blueprint isn’t really an anti-violence plan—it's an assault on modest discovery, bail and juvenile justice reforms.
Commentary
The Manhattan DA Started a Panic with Supposedly Soft-on-Crime Policies. His Critics Are Wrong.
Like other progressive prosecutors, Alvin Bragg is trying to acknowledge that prison time doesn’t fight crime.
Commentary
Crime Rates Rise And Fall. The Police Mostly Have Nothing To Do With It.
Policing expansions don't do much to reduce crime. Instead, they manage people and communities to serve the interests of the powerful.
Commentary
Why Our Fixation On The Murder Rate Is Killing Us
Deaths by suicide, drug overdose, and car accidents are all strongly influenced by our reliance on—and unwillingness to move away from—policing.
Features
In 1992, thousands of furious, drunken cops descended on City Hall — and changed New York history.