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 "prior records" ...
-
Unprotected: An Investigation o Sacramento County's Child Protective Services
A dozen years after the 1996 torture-death of one boy triggered major reforms within Sacramento County's Child Protective Services, -- and resulted in a quadrupling of the agency's budget and doubling of its staff -- many of the same problems persist in 2008. The Sacramento Bee found that, despite the massive increase in resources, numerous children continue to be injured or killed who had prior involvement with Sacramento's CPS. Among the problems detailed by The Bee: inadequate supervision and training, sloppy investigations, poor evaluation of children's risk, lack of accountability for serious mistakes. In its follow-up stories, which prompted a grand jury investigation, The Bee used a new state law related to child deaths to push CPS to release case files and found it had illegally altered the records of one boy who died in their care.
Tags: child protective services; county government; torture; child welfare; government agency; government accountablity; child services
-
School Safety Checks Spotty
This investigation, sparked by a fire at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City, found that many schools in Utah lack modern fire safety features. The authors found that the fault lies mostly with fire inspectors, who are often ill-trained or inexperienced. The inspections are inconsistent and do not occur regularly, which is why there are no recorded inspections for Wasatch Junior High School for years prior to the disaster.
Tags: Fire Marshall; inspections; inspectors; state government; education; students; fire alarms; fire drills; safety; firefighters
-
Failure to Protect; Cries for Help
In this 16 month series, WTHR looks at the working of the child welfare system in Indiana. The reports showed how the sate was not protecting children it had placed in foster homes. In some cases children died due to being ill-treated or neglect in the foster homes. After this series was aired, the state government passed a law making prior death records of children in foster care public.
Tags: child abuse; foster homes; child neglect; death of children in foster care; Indiana FOI laws; FOI; public records; children; sexual abuse; sexual abuse of children
-
Secret No More
In April 2004, an assistant principal, Vincent Brothers, was charged with killing five of his family members. He had a prior record of violence and sexual misconduct. This reporter from the Bakersfield Californian, acting on a tip about Brothers prior record, asked the school board to release his personnel file. This story describes the legal battle for the release of these documents under the California Public Records Act.
Tags: FOIA; Vincent Brothers; California Public Records Act; Public Records Act; school board; school principal; sexual abuse; violence; legal battle; assistant principal; vice-principal
-
Crisis in the Courts
Walsh's story focuses on a faulty criminal history database. Maine's criminal records system is in complete disrepair, and actually causes more harm than good. Judges and prosecutors find the system so unorganized, they don't know if a defendant has committed any prior crimes in the state. This results in bails set too low and sentences that are too lenient.
Tags: criminal history database; criminal justice system of Maine; Domestic Violence Advisory Committee; Maine Governor John Baldacci
-
Frequent Faller
A woman widely reported as being trampled at a Florida Wal-Mart during a mad rush for cheap DVD players on the morning after Thanksgiving had made at least 15 prior claims of injuries from slip-and-falls, falling objects, heavy lifting or other accidents. This investigation--like the original story it was based on--received worldwide attention and cast a new light on what had been criticized as an example of capitalism.
Tags: TAPE; Wal Mart; Wal-Mart; slip-and-fall claim; claim; injury; unconscious; fake; fraud; trampling; trampled; worker's compensation; car accident; injured; hurt; medical record; pain.
-
Surgery for sale
Following up on patients' complaints, ABC investigates fradulent practices in eye care delivery. Under investigation is the Lasik Vision Institute in Tampa, FL which advertised eye surgeries to be conducted for as low as $299. The story reveals how patients who underwent these surgeries ended up with eye infections after having never got the advertized deal - not even a meeting with a surgeon prior to the procedures.
Tags: National Chain of Lasik; Tampa; LVI; medical records; RICO violations
-
Solie's prior DWI conviction in Vermont
After the president of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly was convicted of driving under the influence as a first-time offender, the Sun Star uncovered that Rick Solie had indeed been previously convicted of DWI in another state, something both the prosecutor and judge in the case had been unaware of. When open records requests were denied, the paper also filed a lawsuit to gain access to Solie's arrest records.
Tags: DWI; DUI; drunk; drunken; driving; official; prosecution; lawsuit; offender; arrest; law; legal; public records; FOIA
-
Georgia's Corporate Tax Giveaway
The Atlanta Business Chronicle discovered Georgia's legislature giving away corporate tax breaks to companies that agreed to create jobs and build new facilities within state borders. The paper had to sue the state to get access to the information. The pressure forced the Governor to help change state law to give the public access to the tax records. Jordan then proved that one of the companies did not create as many jobs as it promised prior to getting the tax break.
Tags: business; taxes; corporate welfare; jobs; public subsidies
-
Columbine Series: Lights, Camera...No Comment; Chronology of a Big Fat Lie, The Do-Nothing Defense; Unhappy Returns; Back to School; More Whoppers From Jeffco; I'm Full of Hate and I Love It; Shocking the Conscience
Prendergast reports on the "aftermath of the Columbine school shootings, particularly the missteps by law enforcement officials." The series features the "first publication of pages from gunman's Eric Harris' diary, which police investigators have kept hidden for two years, showing that Harris had composed a detailed plan of the attack...." County officials not only concealed and destroyed investigative records, but also fabricated false statements in order to cover up the prior warnings that police had on the shooting plot, Westword reports. Some of the documents that contradicted the first official version have been exposed through the process of public records litigation.
Tags: FOI; law enforcement; Jefferson County Sheriff's Department; police; crime; juvenile psychology; judges; guns; weapons; explosives