FW: Behind the hoopla
Dianne Tramutola-Lawson
From: Carroll Bogert [mailto:rbaldwin=themarshall...@mail206.atl171.mcdlv.net] On Behalf Of Carroll Bogert
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2016 11:23 AM
Subject: Behind the hoopla
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The President’s Brief |
Dear Friends of the Marshall Project, Behind the hoopla. The federal government’s decision to phase out its use of private prisons made a big splash last week. Our reporter Maurice Chammah quickly produced what journalists call an “explainer,” giving important context to a major decision. One example: only 22,000 prisoners will be affected, while 91,000 remain in private prisons at the state level. Meanwhile, this development also highlights the role that journalism can play in influencing public policy. Just as our recent exposé of private prison transportation has led to a federal investigation and delayed the merger of two companies, so last week’s announcement was influenced in part by Mother Jones’ excellent reporting. Journalism is the oxygen of reform. Is crime rising or falling in America? Political candidates present very different pictures. So we set out to answer this question with a deep dive into the data. Our team collected and analyzed more than 40 years of statistics from 68 of the largest police jurisdictions in the country. The true story of violent crime is that it varies widely from one community to another – in Milwaukee, it jumped 237% from 1975 to 2015, but overall crime remains near historic lows. Our beautifully-designed interactive graphs show how your conclusions about crime depend on what you’re looking at: the city, the type of crime, the span of time. This helps explain why most Americans believe crime is worse overall, while far fewer believe it’s actually worse where they live.
So long, for now. Our reporter Ken Armstrong doesn’t like to brag, so we’ll have to do it for him. Ken has won or been part of a team that won four Pulitzer prizes. His most recent win: An Unbelievable Story of Rape, the moving tale of a rape victim whose allegations were dismissed by police while the perpetrator went on to assault many more women. We reported the story with ProPublica and partnered with This American Life. Starting September 1, Ken will be taking a few months off from The Marshall Project to turn this amazing piece of journalism into a book. He writes in a “daylight basement” in his home in Seattle, watched over by Henry the cat and Veggie the turtle. But don’t worry, he’ll be back next year!
Carroll |
The Marshall Project · 156 West 56th Street · Suite 701 · New York, NY 10019 · USA |
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