The sputtering economy affected both criminal justice and news coverage of it in 2010. Most dramatically, many criminal justice agencies, from police departments to prisons, were forced to cut back on their staffing and services. For their part, the news media continued to readjust, including the use of smaller staffs in many mainstream publications whose cutbacks had as much to do with competition on the Internet as with general economic conditions.
Criminal Justice Journalists (CJJ), a national organization of journalists who cover this beat, puts together an annual report on media's coverage of crime trends. The report discusses the large stories and trends of the year as well as the media's coverage of the issues. Additionally, CJJ conducts a round-table conference call with some of the country's most well respected criminologists to discuss issues of crime coverage in the media.
Read the report and conference call transcript here.
A team of five reporters for the Philadelphia Inquirer has been documenting serious problems in Philadelphia’s court system for more than two years for their groundbreaking series, "Justice: Delayed, Dismissed, Denied." Their investigation found that the city had the highest violent crime rate among America's 10 largest cities and among the lowest conviction rates for big cities. Nearly two-thirds of all defendants accused of violent crimes in Philadelphia have been allowed to walk free.
University of Missouri journalism professor Debora Halpern Wenger interviewed the reporting team about their investigative techniques.
On October 22, 2010, journalists from across Kentucky gathered at University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications, for a reporting seminar co-sponsored by the Pew Center on the States and John Jay College of Justice’s Center on Media, Crime and Justice.
“The Future of Sentencing, Corrections and Crime Reduction in Kentucky: A Conversation between Journalists and Policymakers” featured panelists including Chief Justice John Minton, Supreme Court of Kentucky, Senate President David Williams (R), Kentucky Legislature, and Rhonda Henry, Executive Director, Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center.
On June 25 and 26th 2010, 18 journalists from across the country gathered with preeminent experts in tribal justice at The University of New Mexico School Of Law for a specialized reporting institute.
There is a great need for tribal members trained in law enforcement, said many tribal leaders. New Mexico Military Institute will be awarding full scholarships to 20 Native American students who are interested in pursuing an associate's degree in criminal justice. Applications are due around around August 5th, 2010.
The recipient lands a summer internship at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia. NMMI also offers a separate scholarship for Native American students, worth $2,500 per semester regardless of area of study.
Contact information:
Betty Chancey
Southeast Region Coordinator
NM MESA, Inc.
ENMU-Roswell
PO Box 6000
Roswell, NM 88202
Office: 575-624-7129 Cell: 505-918-1879
FAX: 575-624-7432
betty.chancey@roswell.enmu.edu
In a series called “True Crime,” published between September 27 and December 18, 2009, the paper sought to depict the truth about crime in their city through an innovative mapping project.
Read the case study. Click here and the document will download to your desktop.
Learn how to create your own crime database. Click here and the document will download to your desktop.
Contact reporters, editors and computer reporters for additional information. Click here and the document will download to your desktop.
On Feb. 1st and 2nd, 2010 twenty-one selected journalists from across the country, criminal justice professionals, experts and others gathered at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City to discuss Criminal Justice Reform: What Works, What Doesn't and What Don't We Know? at the 5th Annual H.F. Guggenheim Conference on Crime in America.
