Crime rates dropped across much of the U.S. in 2025. That was true for both property and violent crime. And it declined nearly everywhere: In big cities and small towns, and in red and blue states.
criminal justice
Posted inNPR
Live cameras are tracking faces in New Orleans. Who should control them?
A private non-profit operates over 200 cameras with live facial recognition in New Orleans. The system raises questions about privacy, legal authority and who should control surveillance technology.
Posted inNPR
Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison
Grant Hardin was the police chief of Gateway, Ark. for about four months in 2016. Corrections officials did not provide any details about how he escaped.
Posted inNPR
South Carolina plans to carry out a firing squad execution. Is it safe for witnesses?
South Carolina plans to execute its first prisoner by firing squad on March 7 inside the same death chamber it’s used for dozens of other executions. Firearms experts say that could be risky.
Posted inNPR
Manhattan prosecutors ask for additional pause in Trump hush-money criminal case
Manhattan prosecutors are asking for a further pause in the criminal trial against President-elect Donald Trump in order to give both sides time to weigh the unprecedented nature of the situation.
Posted inNPR
Family releases video of final moments before Black man’s death in Missouri prison
A criminal complaint alleges that guards pepper-sprayed Othel Moore Jr., placed a mask over his face and left him in a position that caused him to suffocate.
Posted inNPR
‘Cheat Code to Life’: Jailhouse lawyers help incarcerated people — and themselves, too
A new trove of letters and oral histories is shining a light on the successes and challenges of jailhouse lawyers: people in prison who help themselves and others navigate the legal system.
Posted inNPR
Hunter Biden goes on trial in Los Angeles over charges of tax evasion
The sordid details of one of the darkest periods of Hunter Biden’s life could be dredged up in a trial over tax evasion that kicks off on Thursday.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Officers present during Fall River police station beating can keep their jobs
Two Fall River police officers who were present for the beating of a suspect at the city’s police station in 2020 will keep their jobs, after an investigation released this week found insufficient evidence to prove whether they filed false reports in violation of department policy. An earlier FBI investigation into the beating already led […]
Posted inImmigration, Labor, Local, South Coast Bureau
Police press charges in a second sexual harassment case at New Bedford Market Basket
Police have criminally charged a second Market Basket employee for alleged sexual misconduct at the company’s New Bedford supermarket. Juana DeLeon Quinilla, an employee who has chosen to speak publicly under her real name, is accusing a colleague of flashing his penis to her while she cleaned the men’s bathroom and grabbing her butt and […]
