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 "robbery" ...
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Crime Data Investigation
The initial story in the crime data investigation found that from 2009 to early 2012 the Milwaukee Police Department misreported more than 500 aggravated assaults as lesser offenses not counted in the city’s violent crime tally. More than 800 additional cases followed the same pattern but couldn’t be verified with available records. Subsequent stories found police underreported aggravated assaults even when their own officers were severely injured; police clerks routinely changed dangerous weapon codes to generic ones in a way that allowed violent assaults to be underreported — and escape FBI scrutiny; the FBI’s crime auditing process is a fig leaf — metro police departments are rarely audited, and even then the sample sizes are too small to draw meaningful conclusions; Milwaukee police knew they misreported rapes and robberies, but didn’t mention this to city leaders or the public; high-ranking department officials raised red flags internally for years that there were problems but the public only heard a drumbeat that crime was down. In addition to these major installments, Poston and Diedrich wrote nearly two dozen follow-up stories that documented the fallout.
Tags: Crime data; police; assaults; city government
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I-Team: Highway Robbery
WCPO's investigative unit exposed widespread theft of traffic fines by court clerks in a local community notorious as a speed trap -- Arlington Heights, Ohio. Bigger than the thefts by a pair of court clerks was the government cover up that persisted for at least a decade. We obtained documents showing two successive police chiefs had warned the mayor and fiscal officer of Arlington Heights that a substantial amount of cash was missing as far back as 2002. Rather than heeding those warnings, the elected leaders of Arlington Heights marginalized both police chiefs, who eventually resigned. Our ongoing investigation has directly resulted in: · Multiple felony indictments against two government employees for theft in office. · Passage and subsequent repeal of an illegal ban on television cameras in public council meetings. · The complete and permanent shut-down of the speed trap on I-75 through Arlington Heights, Ohio. · A call from the county prosecutor for the village to be dissolved and annexed into a neighboring city. · Committee passage of Ohio House Bill 523, eliminating mayors' courts in communities with fewer than 1,000 residents. · The adoption of a new public records policy for the Village of Arlington Heights, conforming with Ohio public records and open meetings laws. Chief Investigative Reporter Brendan Keefe successfully fought against a wall of resistance to obtain public documents and gain access to illegally-closed council meetings.
Tags: Theft; traffic fines; police chiefs; mayor; fiscal officer;
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Wrongful Arrest?
On a tip that a viewer's 74-year-old father was in jail for a string of Wal-Mart robberies he did not commit, KCTV investigated the challenge of righting a conviction wrong when found on the wrong side of the law.
Tags: wrongful arrest; wrongful conviction; criminal justice; crime statistics; criminal record; eyewitness testimony
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"Final Justice
For seven years, the WEWS-TV Investigative Unit researched and reported the case of a Cleveland man, Darrell Houston, who was serving "33 years to life" in prison. By uncovering new witnesses and interviewing past jurors, the investigation by WEWS eventually led to a new trial, the release of Houston and the exoneration of his "murder and robbery charges."
Tags: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court; Nancy Fuerst; judge; Ohio Court of Appeals; Cleveland Police Department; Nancy Margaret Russo; jury; court
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Marijuana Inc.
Flying over northern California, you will see row upon row of marijuana fields. These rows are worth multi-millions and are left in plain sight. This is “evidence of a lucrative, but also increasingly violent, underground pot industry”. This industry has become a large part of that county’s economy. Many people in this industry are turning to guns as protection, robberies in search of drug stashes, and arrival of Mexican drug cartels.
Tags: Mendocino County; Emerald Triangle; narcotics; growers; pot brokers; business; trade; Federal Drug Enforcement Administration
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Failure to Report
This investigation "uncovered more than 200 rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults inside Memphis City Schools that were routinely hidden". All these cases were hidden by school employees, parents, and even police in an attempt to keep the crime statistics low. This left the victimized children with nowhere to turn and received zero amounts of help.
Tags: children; kids; schools; education; teachers; campus; school district; learning
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University Alert System Fails
An armed robbery taking place just feet off of the University of Miami campus failed to trigger a system-wide emergency notification. The text messages and e-mails meant to alert students and faculty of the danger were never sent out. CBS4 uncovers the failure.
Tags: armed robbery; University of Miami; alert; system; fail; students; crime; gunmen; e-mails; text messages; emergency;
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"Justice: Delayed, dismissed, denied"
This series “documented a Philadelphia court system deep in crisis.” The court system has the “nation’s lowest conviction rates, highest fugitives rates, endemic witness intimidation and a failure to punish crimes of gun violence.” To produce these results, the Inquirer conducted data analysis and found the rates from murder, rape, assault, robbery and illegal gun possession.
Tags: Court system; Murder; Rape; Robbery; Assault; Illegal gun possession; Defendants; Philadelphia; Crime; Violence; Conviction; Justice system