Watching the criminal legal system — from police to post-release
Dedicated coverage of the Arizona agencies that most need independent oversight: live news, a permanent archive, and a sourced history of each.
Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry
Arizona's state prison system: its director and staff, the ten state prisons and private contract facilities, deaths in custody, staffing, heat, healthcare, escapes and incidents — and the long fight in federal court over the care of incarcerated people.
Phoenix Police Department
The nation's fifth-largest city police department: the U.S. Department of Justice pattern-or-practice investigation and its findings, a record of police shootings that led the nation, use of force, the 2020 protest gang-charge scandal, and the city's Office of Accountability and Transparency.
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Jails
One of the largest jail systems in the country — Lower Buckeye, 4th Avenue, Estrella and the Towers — with its deaths in custody and conditions, Correctional Health Services, the Melendres v. Arpaio court monitor and its costs, and the legacy of Tent City.
Maricopa County Attorney's Office
The prosecutor for metro Phoenix: charging decisions, police-shooting reviews, plea and sentencing practices, the 2020 protest gang-charge scandal, and the county attorney's record on transparency.
Arizona Board of Executive Clemency
The board that decides commutations, pardons, and release and revocation hearings, and whose recommendations reach the governor. We track its decisions, audits, and the people waiting on it.
Tucson Police Department
Arizona's second-largest police department: use of force, deaths in custody including Carlos Ingram-Lopez, shootings, leadership, and civilian review.
Arizona Department of Public Safety
The state police: highway patrol troopers, shootings and use of force, body cameras, the crime lab, and the agency's role in border and immigration enforcement.