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 "safety practices" ...
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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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Startribune:The Day Care Threat
Children had been dying in Minnesota child care at an alarming rate and state regulators and industry leaders had overlooked the problem until our reporting laid bare a series of safety failures that led to the spike in deaths. The reporters made dozens of public record requests and analyzed hundreds of cases to uncover wide problems in the state’s in-home daycare system. They almost all the deaths occurred at in-home daycares, which have more lax regulations than centers. The series also uncovered dozens of cases of sexual abuse, gun violence and negligence that harmed children in the state’s in-home daycare system. It revealed how Minnesota has some of the weakest training and supervision rules in the country for these in-home daycares. The reporters also discovered that critical safety records that would help parents identify problem providers were not accessible to the public. The response to the series was swift and sustained. State regulators implemented changes to improve infant safe sleep practices and they are planning legislation this session to shore up some of the safety problems. The series also highlighted how the lack of information about child care deaths is a national problem.
Tags: Child care; safety; daycare system; sexual abuse; gun violence; negligence
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HBO Real Sports: Hockey's Darkest Day
In 2011 a plane carrying a Russian hockey team crashed shortly after takeoff--the deadliest accident in the history of professional sports. A five-month Real Sports investigation uncovered massive safety problems in the Russian hockey league. The league spent millions on player salaries but "a few bucks" on everything else--including travel. The plane that crashed was operated by a cheap, third-rate company that had been banned from flying to Europe because they had been cited so many times for major safety violations. The crew of the plane hadn't even completed their training. Our investigation showed that the lack of safety in the world’s second best hockey league—called the KHL—often extends to the ice where KHL team doctors use IV’s and drugs to get their players to perform better on the ice. One young star died after receiving an injection of banned drugs from team doctors. When it came to travel, the lack of safe conditions was nearly universal. Practically every team flew on a Soviet-era jet—jets that make up 3% of the world’s fleet but account for 42% of the world’s accidents. These jets are in such poor condition that most Russian airlines wont use them. Yet even after the crash the KHL continued to use these planes, a fact they initially denied. Shortly after we interviewed the KHL Vice President, the league changed its rules. Now teams fly strictly on modern equipment.
Tags: Russia; Russian hockey team; plane crash; the KHL;
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Patient Safety Crisis at Parkland
This investigation takes a look at Parkland Memorial Hospital, which mostly treats Dallas' most vulnerable patients, the poor and the elderly. The findings are shocking and extensive, including patient neglect, unsupervised practices from doctors in training and poorly trained psychiatric technicians.
Tags: hospitals; psychiatric care; patient neglect
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Flying Cheap
The February 2009 crash of Continental Flight 3407 revealed "a little-known trend in the airline industry: major airlines have outsourced more and more of their flights to obscure regional carriers." These smaller carriers operate with different safety practices with pilots that are often paid less, with less training and fewer flight hours.
Tags: airlines; aviation safety; Federal Aviation Administration; flight safety; transportation
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Carnival Safety Investigation
Inside Edition sent a producer with hidden cameras to work at several traveling carnivals around the country where he uncovered major drug use by some of the carnival ride operators. In addition to capturing "ride jockeys" abusing (and dealing) drugs just minutes before they began operating major thrill rides popular with children and young adults, our producer also observed several serious safety issues inherent in the traveling carnival industry. Among these safety issues were questionable hiring practices, inadequate training policies and dangerous mechanical issues on multiple rides.
Tags: carnival safety; public safety; ride jockeys; drug use; sex offenders; ex-con; traveling carnivals;
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The Cruelest Cuts
The investigation revealed how officials in the poultry industry have ignored and threatened injured workers as they created an illusion of safety inside their plants. The practice helped companies boost profits, but it has also jeopardized the health of thousands of poultry workers.
Tags: worker safety; Latino; poultry; OSHA; Raeford Farms; injury; factory
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Las Vegas Construction Deaths
Workers had been dying at a rate of one every six weeks -- 12 deaths in 18 months -- until contractors made sweeping safety improvements after the Las Vegas Sun revealed that poor safety practices and lax oversight by state regulators had contributed to the fatalities. Before the story, construction safety had been a non-issue in Las Vegas. The deaths were considered the cost of doing business in a $32 billion building boom, the biggest in Las Vegas history. High-rise construction is dangerous, authorities said. Contractors and state regulators blamed many of the accidents on the dead workers themselves. This investigation found those arguments were "plainly wrong."
Tags: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Las Vegas; construction work; worker deaths; property; contractors; Nevada state regulations
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Troubled Waters
The authors investigated a dive company in Belize after one of its customers, Abigail Brinkman, died. They found questionable practices and a history of incidents. The company, Advance Dive, and dive master Vance Cabral were found to have put people's lives at risk for profit. On Dec 14, 2006, Belize's Licensing Committee announced their decision to refuse to renew Advance Diving Tours tour operator’s license for a period of 5 years.
Tags: Scuba diving; snorkeling; Belize; Abigail Brinkman; Vance Cabral; Advance Dive; water safety; tourism; tour operators
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Scandal inside Texas power grid operator
This story looks at the Department of Public Safety's investigation into ERCOT, the state's power grid operator for "questionable contracting practices" and possible security vulnerabilities.
Tags: Electric Reliability Council of Texas; power grids; Texas Public Utility Commission; ECT Global Solutions Inc.; Department of Public Safety; Cyberensics Corp.