Criminal Justice (Page 9)

short readsApr 2, 2014

Feds may be rethinking the drug war, but states have been leading the way

Faced with overcrowded prisons and soaring correctional costs, states are rethinking how to define and punish drug crimes.
reportApr 2, 2014

America’s New Drug Policy Landscape

The public appears ready for a truce in the long-running war on drugs. A national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 67% of Americans say that the government should focus more on providing treatment for those who use illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Just 26% think the government’s focus should be […]
short readsMar 28, 2014

Lower support for death penalty tracks with falling crime rates, more exonerations

Over the past half-century, public support for the death penalty has generally tracked increases and declines in rates of violent crime.
reportMar 28, 2014

Shrinking Majority of Americans Support Death Penalty

According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 55% of U.S. adults say they favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder. A significant minority (37%) oppose the practice.
short readsMar 19, 2014

Religious police found in nearly one-in-ten countries worldwide

As of 2012, at least 17 nations have police that enforce religious norms. Religion police forces are most common in the Middle East and North Africa, and are also found in the Asia-Pacific and in sub-Saharan Africa.
reportMar 18, 2014

The Rise of Federal Immigration Crimes

Between 1992 and 2012, the number of offenders sentenced in federal courts more than doubled, driven largely by a 28-fold increase in the number of unlawful reentry convictions.
short readsMar 18, 2014

In 2013, 59% of deported immigrants convicted of a crime

President Obama ordered a review of immigration enforcement policies last week, following weeks of growing pressure from Democrats and Latino leaders, one of whom recently called him “deporter in chief.” As the number of unauthorized immigrants sent home nears two million under his administration, the president met with advocates late on Friday and acknowledged deportations […]
short readsFeb 21, 2014

More hate crimes motivated by victims’ ethnicity

In about half of the cases of reported hate crimes, victims believed their ethnic background motivated the offender.
short readsNov 4, 2013

From courts to cops to shops: Where blacks perceive discrimination

Seven-in-ten blacks say that blacks in their communities were treated less fairly than whites in dealing with police.
reportOct 24, 2013

Chapter 2. El Salvador

Salvadorans are extremely dissatisfied with current conditions in their country, and nearly everyone is concerned about gang-related violence and crime. When it comes to solving the urban gang problem that has plagued El Salvador, the public is deeply divided along partisan lines over whether the government is making any progress, but unanimously supports enlisting the […]