The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Karen" ...
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Failed to Death
Since 2007, 72 children who were under supervision of the state of Colorado died at the hands of their caregivers. They were beaten, starved, suffocated or burned to death. An investigation by The Denver Post and 9News uncovered the failings of the system that was there to protect those children. The report included voices from the state, the counties, overworked caseworkers, law enforcement and family members, along with details on each child's death.
Tags: Caregivers; children; abuse; deaths
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Bronx Prosecutors Drop Staggering Loads of Cases
A nine-month investigation by WNYC’s Ailsa Chang revealed that people accused of crimes in the Bronx have a greater chance of walking away without charges than anywhere else in New York City. Chang’s two-part series shows that the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office declines to prosecute thousands more cases than do the four other District Attorney offices. And the main reason is a troubling internal policy that no other prosecutors’ office in the city follows: In the Bronx, a case is dropped if a victim doesn’t cooperate within the first 24 hours after an arrest. Bronx prosecutors declined almost one quarter of all their cases in 2011. That’s nearly four times the average rate Manhattan and Brooklyn prosecutors declined cases.
Tags: Crimes; charges; prosecutors; declined cases; victim cooperation
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Mercury News: Loss of Trust
The San Jose Mercury News IRE contest entry "Loss of Trust" consists of an original two-part series published July 1 and July 2, 2012, and the series' remarkable aftermath. The series exposed the eye-popping fees charged by private professionals working as court-appointed conservators and trustees for dependent adults in Silicon Valley - exorbitant rates that together with attorneys' fees threaten to force their vulnerable clients onto government assistance to survive. Within days of publication, the Santa Clara County Superior Court launched an overhaul of its local rules, and state legislation was pledged for the coming year to rein in the abuses.
Tags: Conservators; Trustees; attorneys; overcharged fees
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Prognosis: Profits
In their quest for growth and profits, large nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have pushed up healthcare costs, paid executives millions and left thousands with bills they struggle to pay. In a joint investigation, the Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer of Raleigh found that urban hospitals in North Carolina have generated some of the nation’s largest profit margins and have amassed billions of dollars in reserves. Hospitals in the Charlotte area have sued thousands of needy patients they could afford to help, frequently putting liens on their homes and damaging their credit. Raleigh-Durham hospitals, meanwhile, have sent collection agencies after thousands of patients, ruining the credit ratings of many in the process.
Tags: Healthcare; nonprofit hospitals; patients
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Trouble In Paradise
This story outlines the need for better regulation of coral reef fish collecting. This story provides the basic facts on the aquarium trade in Hawaii at a time when people in the state were having to decide where they stood on the issue.
Tags: Coral Reef; Fish; Hawaii; Aquariums
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ACWWA
The investigation found that Arapahoe County water officials contracted to pay the top-dollar price of $153 million for water. There were numerous red flags and inherent problems with the deal.
Tags: water; Arapahoe County; ACWWA
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Alleged Illegal Drug Searches and Unlawful Marijuana Arrests by NYPD
A two-part investigative series on marijuana arrests and illegal searches by the New York City Police Department and a look into the city's "Stop and Frisk" policy.
Tags: Marijuana; New York City Police Department; NYPD; Stop and Frisk
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Young Kids, Hard Time
A documentary on the lives of convicted juveniles - some as young as 12 - serving decades in the adult correctional system.
Tags: juvenile; crime; adult; correctional; system; sentencing; prison
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Show Me the Money: Housing Authority Investigation
"In this four-part investigation, KCET primarily focused on how employees at the Housing Authority of the city of LA spent taxpayer money. They also looked at the salaries and bonuses of managers, and uncovered a pattern of wrongful termination lawsuits, which cost taxpayers over $13 million dollars in just four years."
Tags: housing authority; HACLA; broadcast
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Alleged Illegal Searches & Unlawful Marijuana Arrests by NYPD
The story takes a look into the NYPD's "stop and frisk" policy. The "stop and frisks" are street encounters carried out almost exclusively blacks and Latinos in the city's poorest neighborhoods. The investigation shows that NYPD is likely making false arrests for marijuana possession after recovering marijuana through illegal searches during "stop and frisks."
Tags: stop and frisks; NYPD; police; drugs; radio