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 "dangerous jobs" ...
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Hospital at Risk
My investigation of the Minnesota Security Hospital, a state-run facility that provides psychiatric treatment to nearly 400 adults deemed "mentally ill and dangerous," uncovered high rates of violence and injuries of employees and patients at the facility, a critical shortage of psychiatrists, and widespread confusion among employees about what to do when a patient becomes violent. I found that much of confusion was the result of the abrasive, threatening management style of head administrator David Proffitt, who was hired in 2011 to reform the facility. I began investigating Proffitt and found he was hired without a basic background check. I uncovered many troubling details from Proffitt's past, including domestic violence, a PhD from a now-defunct online degree mill, a forced resignation from his previous job as the administrator of a private psychiatric hospital in Maine, and other failings. The state ordered Proffitt to resign and the Minnesota legislative auditor began an audit of the department's hiring practices. The assistant commissioner of the Department of Human Services who led the hiring search also resigned. The governor proposed $40 million in renovations to address safety concerns. Regulators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the facility for the first time in 21 years. The facility also implemented new training for employees to reduce violence. My investigation of the facility continues.
Tags: Psychiatrists; domestic violence; injuries
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The Baghdad Job: Iraq's Missing Billions
Revealing that every one of the billion dollar cash airlifts the NY Fed sent to Baghdad was met by the same man. He handled as much as 40 billion dollars in cash in the war zone between 2003 and 2008. On one occasion -- to dupe the insurgents who frequently attacked his currency convoys -- the courier placed a billion dollars in the back of a garbage truck and rolled it down "Route Irish," the unnamed military designation for what was the most dangerous road in the world. The courier accused unnamed Iraqi officials of being involved in theft of millions of dollars of the cash that he delivered into their vaults.
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"The Dark Side of Daries"
Rebecca Clarren takes an in-depth look at the dangerous working conditions of migrant dairy workers in the "American West." Many have been seriously injured or killed on the job, but are scared to tell their stories for fear they will be fired.
Tags: immigrant; cows; diary; farmers; milking; daries; OSHA
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Terror Informant
Egyptian immigrant Osama Eldawoody speaks to CBS Evening News about his two years "infiltrating and informing on a small group of Pakistani-Americans who planned to bomb a major New York City subway station at Manhattan's Herald Square." While his efforts helped lead to "one of the few post-9/11 terror trial convictions in New York," he found himself in grave danger. His anonymity was not sustained, and he said there were fatwas - threats - against his life in the NY/NJ Muslim community. Eldawoody felt the government failed him, as his identity was revealed when he testified in court, and he has not received help in finding a new job.
Tags: Terrorism; fatwa; Osama Eldawoody; government informants; undercover investigation
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Clout's Sick List
"A Chicago Sun-Times computer-assisted analysis found that patronage workers in Chicago city government filed workplace injury claims at a rate that if true, would make being a political patronage worker in Chicago the most dangerous occupation in America. The series found that patronage workers filed worker's compensation claims against the city at a rate experts deemed implausible and city officials acknowledged was problematic. By doing so, these workers were able to stay home- or, in some cases the newspaper found, work other jobs- while collecting 75 percent of their city pay, tax-free. Many of these workers have claimed repeated workplace injuries. And many have been off work for years."
Tags: workplace; injuries; political patrongage; workplace-injury claims
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Dying For a Job
While workplace insurance boards across Canada claimed workplaces are safer, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigated workplace safety. They found that "the number of workplace deaths had increased by about 7 percent from 1993 to 2004." In addition, coroners' suggestions on making workplaces safer for workers have largely been ignored, and are "not shared from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in a manner that would help make their workplaces safer." The investigation also found that health care and social services workers were in more danger than others, "anywhere from six to 12 times more likely to file claims related to violence on the job, mainly from patients." This is higher than even the rate for police and security.
Tags: Worker's compensation; workplace safety; worker safety; labor laws; on-the-job injuries; Canadian workplaces
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Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite With His Mother
Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario turns into book form her award-winning story about Enrique, a young boy traveling from Honduras through Mexico to reunite with his mother who left him for a job in North Carolina. Enrique is just one of many children who make the long journey to the United States from Central America to be with parents who left to find work and send money back to their families. Enrique is just one of many children who make the long journey to the United States from Central America to be with their parents, who usually left to find work and send money back to their families.
Tags: Immigration; family; Central America; Honduras; reunited familes
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Broken Promises, Broken Lives
An investigation finds "widespread mistreatment of mentally retarded and mentally ill people in Missouri, including sexual assaults, beatings and neglect in thousands of incidents that led to hundreds of injuries and 21 deaths." Further, the state has not followed its own law and policies in the investigation and reporting of the mistreatment, drawing the ire of the federal government. In addition, the police and prosecutors did not always do their own investigations "of suspicious incidents." The newspaper also discovered that "the public and private system of care relies on underpaid, overworked caregivers in dangerous jobs with little training."
Tags: Mentally retarded; handicapped; sexual assault; beating; neglect; sexual offenders
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Politics and Punishment on Rikers Island
An investigation that took a year and a half revealed that New York City Correction Department employees were forced to work on Republican political campaigns. In the 1990's, correction officials supporting Republicans were awarded with promotions and better assignments. On the other hand, any employee working for Democrats got 'whacked', or sent to dangerous jobs or forces to retire. As a result to this investigation, the main perpetrator was indicted on 146 counts of grand larceny and violating conflicts of interest laws.
Tags: New York City Correction Department; jail; warden; political campaign; republicans; democrats; threats
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Construction workers' safety net full of holes; State tries to stop death in the trenches
This series, which originally sought to identify the most dangerous jobs in Washington state, investigates preventable deaths among construction workers in the state. The investigation also looks at both state and national laws which do very little to punish those responsible with any serious fines. According to the questionnaire, "if you pollute a wetland in Washington State, you are liable for more fines than if you oversee a construction site where someone is likely to fall to their death."
Tags: workplace safety fines; trench deaths; OSHA