Crime & Justice

Local · Crime & Justice

Crime and justice news from courtrooms and communities: investigations, trials, verdicts, and the questions they raise about the system.

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CRIME & JUSTICE

Police dealing with two incidents in Buller region believed to be connected

RNZ

CRIME & JUSTICE

Countries adopt global blueprint to tackle fast-evolving crime in digital age

UN News

CRIME & JUSTICE

Iran: Architects of crimes against humanity to suppress protests must face international justice to deter further massacres

Amnesty International

CRIME & JUSTICE

Quilt exhibit showcases artwork of inmate turned criminal justice activist

PBS

CRIME & JUSTICE

‘The Wrong Side of Justice’

WTTW News

CRIME & JUSTICE

Violent crime plummeted in 2025, with murder rate hitting 20-year low, FBI says

CBS News

CRIME & JUSTICE

Curating Crime and Punishment: What 10 Images Reveal About American Justice

themarshallproject.org

CRIME & JUSTICE

International Criminal Justice Day: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union

consilium.europa.eu

CRIME & JUSTICE

Deschutes County to showcase state-funded programs during Criminal Justice Commission visit

Deschutes County, OR (.gov)

CRIME & JUSTICE

New criminal justice laws crack down on gangs, clarify where mental health evals are conducted

WRAL

CRIME & JUSTICE

From Public Flogging to Flock Cameras: How the U.S. Justice System Evolved Over 250 Years

themarshallproject.org

CRIME & JUSTICE

Bill will improve experience of criminal justice system for victims and witness of crime - justice-ni.gov.uk

Google News

CRIME & JUSTICE

All six criminal justice ballot measures in 2026 continue trend toward increasing criminal penalties and bail restrictions

Ballotpedia News

CRIME & JUSTICE

Retail theft, gun crimes, DWIs: What's in NC's sweeping criminal justice bill?

WRAL

CRIME & JUSTICE

Criminal Justice Professor Studies Prosecutors’ Decision-Making

UMass Lowell

CRIME & JUSTICE

Criminal justice alum analyzes data to help reduce sexual assault - UW-Milwaukee

Google News

CRIME & JUSTICE

IU criminal justice expert’s research offers best-practices, guidance for police responses to homelessness

News at IU

CRIME & JUSTICE

Report ‘cross-examines’ Wisconsin criminal justice system

News From The States

CRIME & JUSTICE

Here's where the 2024 presidential candidates stand on crime and criminal justice - ABC News

Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

CRIME & JUSTICE

UC Berkeley criminal justice professor discusses Oakland crime data

CBS News

CRIME & JUSTICE

International Criminal Court: Justice at Risk

Human Rights Watch

CRIME & JUSTICE

New lab provides criminal justice students opportunity to process simulated crime scenes

Ashland University

CRIME & JUSTICE

‘Tough-on-crime’ policies are back in some places that had reimagined criminal justice

Stateline

CRIME & JUSTICE

Justice Department proposes major changes to address racial disparities in state crime victim funds

PBS

CRIME & JUSTICE

As a New Term Begins, Where Does the Supreme Court Stand on Criminal Justice?

American Civil Liberties Union

About Crime & Justice

The process, stage by stage

Criminal cases move through defined stages, and confusing them is the most frequent error in reading coverage. An arrest is a police determination that grounds exist to detain someone, not a finding of guilt. Charging is a separate decision made by a prosecutor, who may decline. A grand jury or preliminary hearing tests whether the case proceeds. Pretrial release conditions determine whether someone waits at home or in jail, which is a decision about risk and not about guilt. The overwhelming majority of cases end in a negotiated plea rather than a trial. Appeals review legal error rather than reweighing the evidence, which is why an appeal succeeding is not the same as an acquittal.

What crime statistics actually measure

Crime figures are counts of recorded events, and recording depends on reporting, on police classification practice and on which offenses a given system counts. Changes in willingness to report can move the numbers without any change in underlying behavior, and a shift in classification rules can do the same. Victimization surveys ask households directly and capture incidents never reported, so the two sources routinely diverge. Local counts over short periods are volatile simply because the numbers are small, which makes percentage changes between adjacent periods a poor basis for conclusions. Comparisons between jurisdictions are the least reliable use of all, because definitions differ.

Presumption of innocence is a reporting problem too

Most information available early in a case comes from law enforcement and prosecutors, because the defense has both less access and less reason to speak. That asymmetry shapes coverage regardless of intent, and early accounts are frequently revised. Charging documents describe allegations rather than established facts. Named suspects who are never charged, or later cleared, carry the association permanently in searchable archives, which is why corrections policies and how publications handle old stories matter more on this beat than almost any other.

Criminal and civil are separate systems

The same conduct can produce both a criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit, and they run independently with different rules. A criminal case is brought by the state and must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, with imprisonment among the possible outcomes. A civil case is brought by a private party under a lower standard, usually the balance of probabilities, and ends in money or a court order rather than custody. Because the standards differ, an acquittal in one and a judgment in the other are not contradictory. Regulatory and administrative proceedings form a third track again, with their own penalties.