AltWeeklies Wire
The Somerville Filesnew

The first installment in a multi-part series about the intersection of politics, development, and power in the City of Somerville.
Dig Boston |
Chris Faraone, Tom Nash and Adam Vaccaro |
06-12-2013 |
Crime & Justice
Why Boston Police Didn't Think Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was a Killernew

If anybody had a chance of identifying the Tsarnaevs ahead of time, it would have been the Boston Police Department. Here's how they fucked up.
Dig Boston |
Chris Faraone |
05-23-2013 |
Crime & Justice
Are Hate Crimes on the Rise in Mass.? Who Can Tell with These Numbers?new
Community leaders, victim advocates -- and even government officials -- says underreporting by both victims and police means the stats released by the State Police Crime Reporting Unit are essentially guesswork, and the victims who are least likely to report crimes against them actually bear the brunt of the attacks.
Dig Boston |
Jeremy Fox |
10-28-2009 |
Crime & Justice
What's Mass. Doing to Keep Former Prisoners from Returning to Jail?new

A 2002 study by the Massachusetts Sentencing Committee found recidivism rates had reached 49.1 percent. The Commission to End Homelessness estimated 16 percent of the 25,500 people released each year become homeless. Former prisoners must also navigate Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), the state's rap sheet on anyone ensnared in the criminal justice system.
Dig Boston |
Cara Bayles |
05-15-2008 |
Crime & Justice
The How and Why of Prison Overcrowdingnew
The US prison population grew eight-fold since 1970; more than 2.3 million people are incarcerated nationally, and overcrowding is pandemic in Massachusetts prisons. Two years ago, Massachusetts Department of Corrections facilities were at 134 percent capacity. Now they've reached 143 percent.
Dig Boston |
Cara Bayles |
05-15-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Campus Cops: The Brave New World of Private Forcesnew
Just as the political turbulence of the 1960s ushered in a new era of campus safety, this age of school shootings has created a new wave of security.
Dig Boston |
Cara Bayles |
03-27-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Urban Prospectors Strike the Mother Lode -- In Your Basementnew
Massachusetts residents aren't standing on a gold mine, but with the price of copper nearly quintupling over the past three years, any Bay State degenerate with wire cutters, brass stones and a lookout can make a lucrative dishonest living.
Dig Boston |
Chris Faraone |
04-25-2007 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Start Snitchin': Crime Tips Don't Pay Enoughnew
Criminals stay on the street because residents, fearful of retaliation, refuse to share information with police.
Dig Boston |
Paul McMorrow |
04-18-2007 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice