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 "New York Police Department" ...
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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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NYPD Spying
This AP investigative series has found that the NYPD has secretly conducted widespread spying on Muslim communities
Tags: spying; Muslims; New York Police Department
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NYPD: Fighting Crime at All Costs
WABC closely examined the aggressive policing policies of the NY Police Department. A tip from an officer regarding the use of quotas had turned into "a relentless pursuit of arrests and summonses in the city's minority communities that he claimed led to the write up of innocent people."
Tags: police; law enforcement; wrongful arrest; arrest; criminal statistics; crime statistics; crime; New York; NYPD; New York Police Department
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Police Illegally Buying Machine Guns
"An ongoing, in-depth investigation, coupled with ongoing Freedom of Information litigation, of the secret, illegal purchase of dozens of machine guns by officers of the Albany, NY Police Department who used their agency's authority to buy automatic weapons for official use only as a means to acquire restricted firearms for personal sport and amusement. Eventually, the guns began turning up for sale in at least two gun stores. To this day, several machine guns remain missing and unaccounted for while the department refuses to comply with New York's FOI Laws and has fought disclosure of the truth at every turn."
Tags: police; weapons; fireams; FOI; city government; law enforcement; gun control
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Private Security in a Post-9/11 World
As the focal point of a study of the private guard industry in New York state, WNYC looks at Tristar Patrol Services, "which had seen a dramatic expansion after the September 11 attack in NYC, getting more than $80 million in contract work with the City of New York." The company had more than a thousand employees, mostly young minority males, and they had the task of protecting all of the city's office space, infrastructure and Fire Department facilities. The investigation found that Tristar's owner, Gary Zimmer, had been convicted of assault and had to resign as a police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, yet attained the right to hold a security guard company license when a judge, believing the owner's misrepresentation of his criminal case, granted him an exemption from state law. In addition, there were other issues as Tristar "had been disqualified from doing state work for misrepresenting it had properly credentialed guards, but went on to win a multi-million dollar, multi-year City contract." The company failed to properly compensate guards, including not paying for vacation or advanced state security credentials, and Tristar also did not pay "hundreds of thousands of dollars it was required to pay the union representing the guards to cover union dues and health and welfare benefits required by the contract." But because of the New York Secretary of State's lack of investigators, regulations were not enforced. Also, there is no uniform requirement across the country for the training and qualifications for security guards and companies.
Tags: Private security; Sept. 11, 2001; Tristar Patrol Services; Gary Zimmer; New York City security
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Your Right to Know
A team of 52 Journal News reporters gathered evidence through a FOI audit of 121 agencies in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. The audit revealed that school districts and counties generally received an A for their compliance of FOI law. But police departments failed miserably, with a mere 37 percent of them giving out arrest data. Worse, New York's toothless Sunshine Law stifled access to public information and provided little incentive for government agencies to comply.
Tags: FOIA audit; Freedom of Information Act; data negotiation; open records; state government; city government; watchdog journalism
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Throwaway Kids: Broken Promises; Curse or Cure? Desperate Children, Haphazard Care; Where New York Lags, Milwaukee Succeeds
A Journal News investigation into New York's care system for mentally ill children exposes abuse and neglect. Some of the most needy children are sent to residential treatment centers, which "are costly to taxpayers, yet function without adequate standards of oversight and without a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the care." A major finding is that the facilities increasingly use psychotropic drugs to keep the kids under control. Instead of helping children improve their conditions and returning them to their communities -- as a model Wisconsin program has achieved -- the New York system is overhauled.
Tags: emotionally disturbed teenagers; crime; police; arrests; school; orphanages; Department of Social Services; juvenile justice
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The Disconnected Cop
In a three-month investigation after the 9-11 attacks, Baseline examined the New York Police Department's information and communications capabilities, which were found to be outdated and, for many cops, inaccessible. Additionally, federal agencies were probed and the FBI, CIA and NSA systems were found to be in not much better shape.
Tags: communications; NYPD; 9-11; security; law enforcement; FBI; CIA; NSA; terrorism; information systems
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Dirty Laundry
The New Yorker reports on a small town in New York where corruption in the police department "posed a serious and continuing danger to both the citizens of Wallkill and to all other New Yorkers who travel through the jurisdiction." Officers were accused of severe sexually predatory behavior. Cops took revenge on one whistleblowing officer, tailgating him and his wife, defacing his property and intimidation. The attorney general finally helped to get the situation under control.
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Crack Down
New York Magazine reports on the use of conspiracy laws, usually used in the prosecution of Mafia businesses, to unseat an entrenched crack cartel. The cartel had managed to keep one step ahead of the officers of the 26th precinct with organized operation and security measures; they were also careful who they dealt to and how much. No matter how many arrests were made, the operation wasn't hurt. Using a strike force and conspiracy laws, the New York Police Department was finally able to shut down the operation.
Tags: drug trade; New York Police Department; Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit; crack