School crime numbers higher than reported

Liz Chandler, Peter Smolowitz, Melissa Manware and CAR specialist Adam Bell from The Charlotte Observer report on their findings that more crime in being committed in Charlotte schools than is being reported by the school district. The investigation found "1,473 crimes reported to police at schools, 631 of them violent or threatening." Compare that to "12,681 suspensions of students for violent or threatening acts. That includes 11,378 for "aggressive physical or verbal actions," ranging from verbal confrontations to serious assaults." An Observer investigation found that "CMS relies heavily on suspensions, which soared to a record 52,648 in 2004."

Naush Boghossian and Lisa M. Sodders of the Los Angeles Daily News use data from the Los Angeles Unified School District police to investigate an increase in hate crimes in the district. "Hate crimes in Los Angeles' public schools have surged more than 300 percent over the past decade..." They found that almost all of the reported hate crimes were racially motivated.

Jason Method and James W. Prado Roberts of the Asbury Park Press raised questions in the airplane death seven years ago of a pilot who was about to buy Marlboro Airport, now the center of a massive political bribery scandal. The NTSB ruled the 1998 crash death of Lino A. Fasio an accident due to a probable bird strike, but five experts who reviewed the report and new photographs of the wreckage for the Press said there is no evidence to support the government's claim. "There have been six known fatal accidents involving birds in civil aviation in the United States in the last 15 years. But in every case - except Fasio's - investigators found solid evidence of birds or bird remains." The series includes 14 chapters, ranging from a bird theory to sabotage claims.

Cynthia Kopkowski of The Palm Beach Post, with assistance from William M. Hartnett and researchers Krista Pegnetter and Angelica Cortez, reviewed school bus accident data and motor vehicle records for 130 drivers to find that "nine drivers have been charged with crimes within the past 10 years or within several years of being hired. One current driver was charged with two counts of homicide and convicted of manslaughter in both cases. She was hired within five years of leaving prison. Although 10 of the drivers reviewed have clean motor vehicle records dating back to 1995, the remaining 120 accrued 190 citations within the past decade."

David Tarrant and Paula Lavigne of The Dallas Morning News investigated allegations of racial profiling by campus police at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, finding that "police search minorities more often than Anglos after traffic stops." In addition, there have been complaints about pedestrian stops, which campus police do not keep records on. "In 2004, blacks made up 34 percent of all stops by campus police but were six times more likely to be searched following a stop than whites. Hispanics made up 14 percent of all stops but were nearly five times more likely to be searched after a stop than Anglos."

Steve Suo of The Oregonian investigates America's methamphetamine crisis, now rooted in Mexico, where drug cartels are illicitly obtaining tons of pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient needed to make the potent stimulant. "Mexico's imports of the cold medicine have vaulted from 66 tons to 224 tons in the past five years, customs records show. That's roughly double what the country needs to meet the legitimate demands of cold and allergy sufferers," an analysis by The Oregonian found. This story follows a five-part special investigation by The Oregonian titled Unnecessary Epidemic that ran in October.

Susan Schulman, Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck of The Buffalo News uses public records to investigate gun dealers in a four-day series. The investigation found that while street gun dealers go to jail, licensed gun merchants get a free pass. "Gun shows are a prime source of crime weapons in many states...Despite those concerns, the U.S. Justice Department shies away from gun shows and rarely prosecutes any of the 68,500 dealers licensed to sell firearms in the United States." The series includes an analysis of where the guns are exported from.

Brad Schrade of the Tennessean asked state officials to provide documentation on their response to claims of sexual harassment, identified by Gov. Phil Bredesen as a problem. "When Bredesen's office becomes involved in a complaint, as it did when the governor's top lobbyist was demoted last month, notes are purposely not taken or are shredded, or case documents are not released. When other state departments handle cases, reports are generally kept on file as public records, according to a Tennessean review of available state documents. Indeed, state harassment investigators are trained to take notes and document the facts of a case."

Ted Sherman of The (Newark) Star-Ledger reports on how former Essex County Executive Tom D'Alessio, after serving time on political corruption charges, converted leftover campaign funds into a non-profit foundation that helps support his retirement. "Last year, the foundation reported it gave out $37,750 in contributions of $500 or so to dozens of organizations like the March of Dimes, the United Way and the Boy Scouts. It also paid D'Alessio an $81,708 salary as executive director, leased a $45,665 Mercedes-Benz for him and purchased a $432,000 luxury condominium on Marco Island along Florida's Gulf Coast." New Jersey law permits the practice even though it bars former political candidates from simply taking leftover funds.

The Detroit News investigates a juvenile system plagued with overpayments and conflicts of interest. Using court filings and campaign records, Joel Kurth reports on findings, which include allegations of payments for fictitious youths, relatives of some county officials benefited from contracts, more than $300,000 in overpayments to contractors and hackers accessed a computer system used to verify bills.