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 "crime and drugs" ...
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Truthout on the Border
The true intent of United States Foreign Policy in regards to the war on drugs in Mexico and Latin America is hidden behind many pantallas (screens in Spanish). In ten installments, posted in the first half of 2012, the Truthout on the Mexican Border series exposed the unofficial intentions of the US war on drugs in Latin America and its deadly impact. By connecting the dots in ten successively posted articles, the war on drugs appears to be a screen behind which goals of US military and economic hegemony can more easily be achieved in Latin American nations. Many Mexicans know that when it comes to corruption, drugs and crime in their nation, las pantallas usually prevent them from knowing the truth. The same is true of the US war on drugs, which has resulted in deaths and disappearances that are estimated to reach between 60,000 – 120,000 in the six year rule of Mexican President Felipe Calderón (ending on November 30, 2012). Truthout regularly covers US foreign policy and its impact in Latin America. The Truthout on the Mexican Border series was written to create a comprehensive understanding of what is behind the diplomatic and political screens – weaving in such seemingly diverse topics as US immigration and gun policies to understand the dark underside of US hemispheric intentions in Mexico and Latin America.
Tags: U.S.; foreign policy; Mexico; Latin America; drug war; corruption; crime
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Detroit Free Press: Free to Kill
“Free to Kill,” a seven-month Detroit Free Press investigation, found the Michigan Department of Corrections failed to properly supervise some of the most violent of the state’s roughly 70,000 offenders under its watch. A total of 88 parolees and probationers were suspected, arrested or convicted in 95 murders between Jan. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011. The number nearly doubled from 2010 to 2011 -- from 21 to 38. The series also revealed that dozens of offenders weren't outfitted with court-ordered electronic tethers, and others weren't sent back to prison for new crimes or failed drug tests.
Tags: Department of Corrections; violence; criminals; drug tests
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Crime Along The Border
This investigation sought to answer a question: Whether drug cartel violence raging in Mexico had spilled over into the U.S. border region, as had been claimed by some politicians and law enforcement officials.
Tags: drug cartel; mexico; border patrol; politicians; law enforcement
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Baumgartner
At the start of 2011, the best known and probably most respected judge in Knoxville, Tenn., was Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner, founder of Knox County's successful Drug Court and the judge who recently had presided over trials involving the most shocking crime in local memory, the carjacking, torture and murder of a young couple named Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. The trials of four suspects led to a death sentence, two life sentences and one very long prison term. But soon after the new year began, Baumgartner took an abrupt leave of absence, ostensible for health reasons.
Tags: judge; Knoxville; trials; criminal court
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Fallen Angel: Joe Gustafson lives above the law in North Minneapolis
Using public documents, confidential sources and internal information from law enforcement, the reporter told the secret history of one of North Minneapolis' organized crime rings.
Tags: Hell's Angel; bondsman; Big Joe; Little Joe; Beat-Down Posse; kidnapping; drug ring
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17
Illinois is one of 12 states in the U.S. in which a minor who faces a felony charge is prosecuted in the "adult penal system." In this Chicago Reporter investigation, Angela Caputo reveals that the majority of minors charged with a felony and prosecuted as an adult are black 17-year-old males. She also reveals that most of the cases involve nonviolent crimes like "low-level drug sales" and "property theft."
Tags: felony; Chicago; Austin; Humboldt Park; North Lawndale; Roseland; West Englewood; Cook County; McArthur Foundation
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Scales of Justice
Many known criminals in Linn County walk the streets freely. Among many problems with the local justice system, the largest is that criminal cases are dismissed without prosecution. Without charges on a drug dealer's, child pornographer's, or girlfriend beater's records, it's as if they never committed a crime. The lack of corrective action is leaving local police with low morale and an overwhelming job of arresting repeat offenders only to see the justice system release them back on the public.
Tags: justice system; police; prosecution; charges; arrests; morale; criminals; streets; Linn County; CBS 2; attorney; public safety;
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Asylum Seekers
Mexican citizens are surrounded by violence and drugs in their native country. Many are seeking to become US citizens and find the only way is to gain political asylum or going through business channels. The US government is denying many asylum requests because they believe the law doesn’t fully apply to victims of Mexican organized crime. Further, many of these Mexican citizens have been sent back to Mexico, where a number of them face torture and even death.
Tags: cartel; victims; cases; American law; Gutierrez; safety; family; immigrants; danger; refugees
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Lee Sheriff's Link With Felon Raises Influence Fears
Lee County’s Sheriff has been close friends with a convicted money launderer and kidnapper. During the campaigns for sheriff, he obtained money and advice from the convicted felon. Though, being associated with a felon is not a crime, it is prohibited by the sheriff’s office policy. Once the sheriff learned of his past, he talked less and less to him but they still remain friends today.
Tags: Mike Scott; Richard Spence; law enforcement; police officers; deputies; drug cartel; corruption; connections