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 "police unions" ...
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No Show Policing
The police chief of one of New Jersey's largest cities billed taxpayers for tens of thousands of dollars a year for off-duty "detail work", much of which was never actually performed. Subsequent reporting uncovered that a handful of influential officers, including the heads of both police unions, also enriched themselves in this way. Police records were also so sloppy that it appears taxpayers paid some officers double for working (or, in some cases, not working) the exact same hours.
Tags: taxpayers; police; off-duty; News Jersey
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Baker Resigns
"The series documents the fall of a once-promising local politician, Long Beach City Councilman Dan Baker, who chose to end his career after the Press-Telegram reported that he had entered into a $7.5 million investment deal with the head of the city's police union."
Tags: real estate; conflict of interest; partnership; Steve James; Ray Grabinski
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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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A Stunning Toll
Fort Worth Weekly partnered with University of North Texas students who made open records requests of all Texas law enforcement agencies to obtain data on deaths and injuries in Texas resulting form law enforcement agency individual's Taser use.
Tags: Distributed Reporting Project; FOI; Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; University of North Texas; UNT; Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism; Tasers; law enforcement; Texas Public Information Act; police; sheriffs; Taser International; American Civil Liberties Union; Live Music Capitol of the World; Austin; use-of-force policy; bean hole; stun gun; product safety; wrongful death; Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas; Those Disgruntled Motherfuckers That Have Been Tased; TDMTHBT; Light of Day Project; IRE Student Entry
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Conduct unbecoming-- 2005
Post-Intelligencer reporters exposed numerous cases of crime and abuse in the King County Sheriff's Department. Several officers were allowed to retire rather than face criminal charges for misconduct. One officer's gun was stolen by his roommate, who used the weapon to murder a convenience store clerk. Another officer was promoted to master police officer and trainer despite a long history of misconduct. The sheriff's office failed to discipline other officers with long records of abuse and crime, as well.
Tags: police; sheriff; King County sheriff's department; FOI; police brutality; misconduct; oversight; police officer's union; corruption; crime
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Policing Hollywood
The author investigated the Hollywood (FL) Police Department. The three articles look at the cronyism and nepotism in the police force and the firm grip the Police Benevolent Associationon held on the police force. The union largely runs the police force and those that don't fall in step are punished, while loyalists are rewarded with promotions and lucrative off-duty deals even if their police work is sub-standard.
Tags: nepotism; cronyism; Hollywood (FL) Police Department; Police Benevolent Association; criminal convictions; psychological evaluations; police unions; public records
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Working Overtime in Parma
An investigation by the Plain Dealer found that "dozens of Parma police officers have shirked their duties and bent the rules in pursuit of more money, aggravating the city's budget crisis." What's more, "the department commanders say they are powerless to stop them." Using open records requests to obtain a mass of data including police payroll, criminal citation and ticket data -- along with payroll sheets, duty records, personnel files and union requests, the Plain Dealer uncovered that crooked cops in Parma were not only retaliating against city attempts to reform the system with "an orchestrated and financial crippling work slow down," but they were also gaming the taxpayers for much more money than they were entitled to -- for instance swapping sick time for overtime to earn double the pay for a normal shift. The series spawned a rash of resignations and investigations in Parma.
Tags: parma; ohio; police; cops; corruption; overtime; pay; union; police department; database; criminal; payroll; slowdown; workforce; abuse; FOIA; open records; public records; CAR
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Are you experienced?
This story deals with police brutality. It narrates the death of Mexican legal immigrant Luis Alfonso Torres after he was detained by three members of the Police Dept. of the city of Baytown, west of Houston (Texas). The detention was filmed by a camera mounted on one of the squad's car. When he was detained, Bernstein says, Torres was "suffering from hypertension" and unarmed. "It's bigger than the Rodney King video. After all, in this incident someone died", says a Houston-based Hispanic activist quoted in the story. "Cops killing Mexicans is not new to Harris County", Bernstein says and adds in 1999 the Mexican consulate "proposed a travel warning to advise fellow citizens against visiting Houston because of all the police shootings in the area."
Tags: Baytown Police; Harris County; Harris County District Attorney's Office; Texas ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union); Emergency Medical Service (EMS); Baytown Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
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The Strong Arm of the Law
An investigation by California Lawyer revealed that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the state's prison guard union, uses campaign money and intimidation "to win not only significant contract benefits but also to block or co-opt investigations of officer corruption in its ranks and to influence crime legislation. The story pulled together election campaign funding records and law enforcement interviews to show how money and pressure have been used to block investigations of staff misconduct while successfully promoting higher wages, longer prison terms, and more prison construction."
Tags: California Correctional Peace Officers Association; CCPOA; campaign finance; corruption; law enforcement; officers; police; guards; prisons; union; crime; legislation; investigations
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A floor under foreign factories?
Bernstein reports on an antisweatshop plan that would set guidelines for companies to police their factories and suppliers. The plan, however, does not address the central issue of what wages should be in poor countries, Bernstein writes. He predicts that, in fact, "as the Asian crises batter developing countries, sweatshop abuses are likely to grow."
Tags: human rights; wages; unionization; developing countries; immigration; global economy