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SEPTA quietly decriminalizes jumping turnstiles, lowers fines

Maura Ewing

April 03, 2019 |

WHYY |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Transit Authority, SEPTA, has decriminalized fare evasion, with those who are caught facing a $25 fine. This is down from the prior $300 tickets that were issued in the past. The move toward decriminalization is part of a larger shift in the region for the criminal justice system to be less punitive and more rehabilitative, focusing more on addressing root causes of behavior.

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Some Local Police Departments Are Understaffed. These Volunteers Are Helping Fill the Ranks

Joshua O'Connor

April 02, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Police departments across the country are seeing decreased funding – but an increase in public participation. Volunteers in Public Service, or VIPs, have stepped in to help fill the gaps in staffing left by budget cuts. They’re private citizens, volunteering their time to police departments by operating speed monitors, staffing desks and kiosks, and helping with neighborhood watch.

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Fighting Sex Trafficking at the Truck Stop

Tina Rosenberg

April 02, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Findlay, Ohio

Truckers Against Trafficking are making an impact in reducing sex trafficking in the US by educating truckers, their companies, and the law enforcement that intersect with commercial drivers on how to spot sex trafficking and how to respond. To date, this 10-year-old organization has trained more than 700,000 truckers, and does further outreach with initiatives like "Man to Man" (which trains truckers to talk to other men about the issue) and "The Freedom Drivers Project" (a mobile museum about sex trafficking that goes to events like trucker conventions).

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Fleeing Honduras and what's being done for those left behind

Marcia Biggs

March 30, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Honduras, Rivera Hernandez

Residents of Rivera Hernandez, Honduras are trying to improve their community in a district that’s under gang control. One such effort is a vocational school to train children and adults in electricity and solar energy. The city – subject to extreme poverty – has also received aid from the United States to fund community policing and day camps for a small number of children, although some of that money has bolstered corruption in the region.

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DAs Have This Blueprint for Rethinking Criminal Justice

Emily Nonko

March 28, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Formerly incarcerated individuals, community leaders, and members of San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, have joined forces to create a collaborative advisory board. The board meets to share re-entry challenges and successes, discuss the DA's work, and develop a deeper understanding of systemic crime in the city. From conversations about mental health to poverty, members are helping create new policies and opportunities for those still incarcerated.

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Calif. newsrooms team up to handle police misconduct records dump

Tony Biasotti

March 27, 2019 |

Columbia Journalism Review |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

When a new California law unlocked the disciplinary records on misconduct from 700 police agencies statewide, competing news organizations formed the California Reporting Project to accomplish as a team what would have been daunting, if not impossible, for each news organization individually: compile a database of all the records as they are released. Just months into the project, the resulting news stories informed the public of officers who escaped serious consequences for misconduct, and whose careers benefited from keeping the public unaware.

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Police officers in Salt Lake City schools will be trained to arrest students less often

Courtney Tanner

March 26, 2019 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

Specialized training for school resource officers improves the relationships between law enforcement agents and students. Following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, Salt Lake City, its police department, and school district, begun reforms that address the issue of policing in high schools. New training requirements for school resource officers have led to a significant decline in the number of kids cited at school since 2016.

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Llano barricade protocol investigated after woman swept away in flood

Erin Cargile

March 26, 2019 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Llano, Texas

In Texas, smaller towns are looking to one another for ideas to prevent dangerous encounters with flash flooding. Travis County is one such place, using multi-layered approaches to prevent drivers from crossing flooded areas and requiring deputies to carry water rescue kits in their cars. After the death of one woman, the town of Llano is considering new approaches, like more visible barricades.

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The woman in search of Indian Country's missing

Jessica Lussenhop

March 25, 2019 |

High Country News |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Fort Berthold Reservation, United States, North Dakota

Native individuals and members of groups like Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women have taken it into their own hands to find members of their communities who have gone missing. Recognizing that decades-old legislation often under-prioritizes tribal lands, indigenous populations have turned to grassroots efforts and social media to form their own search parties – and are seeing results.

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Oregon Leading the Nation in Clearing Backlog of Untested Rape Kits with Survivor-Focused Legislature

Ariana Sinclair Ruben Estrada Hannah Kanik

March 20, 2019 |

University of Oregon |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salem, Oregon

As of 2018, Oregon’s backlog of Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) kits had been cleared thanks to the passage of a state bill, commonly referred to as Melissa’s Law. Besides clearing the accumulated kits, the legislation requires police to pick-up the kits from hospitals within seven days of notification and submit SAFE kits for testing within two weeks. Such a response has led to six perpetrators being identified as well as a systemic, patient-driven process for sexual assault survivors.

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