{"id":15302,"date":"2022-11-05T13:16:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T13:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/awards\/?p=15302"},"modified":"2024-01-31T21:49:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T21:49:32","slug":"reporting-on-police-misconduct-7-award-winning-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/awards\/2022\/11\/05\/reporting-on-police-misconduct-7-award-winning-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting on police misconduct: 7 award-winning examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Investigating and reporting on police misconduct requires a complete and nuanced understanding of policing, the rules and regulations in effect and the community being policed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, there are many examples of both winners and finalists honored in the <\/span>Online Journalism Awards<\/span> that have helped their communities to better understand policing and investigated police misconduct. In the current political climate, it\u2019s no surprise that this realm of investigative journalism on police misconduct has the potential to carry a big impact for the community served, as well as other reporters hoping to follow in their footsteps in their own communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of investigative journalism on police misconduct<\/strong><\/p>\n

This roundup includes some important investigative journalism pieces on policing and police misconduct for journalists reporting on similar stories. Each project offers insight into the reporting team\u2019s method, tools and techniques, as well as a look at the challenges each team navigated and the lessons they learned along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NYPD Files<\/h4>\n

When ProPublica went about answering the question \u201cHow does accountability for NYPD officers really work?\u201d, their investigative reporting turned into an unprecedented examination of how the NYPD largely polices itself<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team was able to request and obtain NYPD discipline records during a brief window when they were publicly accessible. From those records, the team learned that the city looked into 3,000 allegations of police misconduct over the course of a year and substantiated only 73 of those allegations. Of those substantiated allegations, only nine officers suffered a severe punishment \u2014 loss of vacation days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Policing and Racial Injustice in the United States<\/h4>\n

With live coverage and a series of articles, videos and maps, the New York Times chronicled the unrest and demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd in 2020<\/a>, including the violent response from police. Through their investigative reporting, Times journalists also covered the prevalence of police misconduct across the United States with a special focus on Minneapolis, where they found that police used force against Black people seven times more often than white people.<\/span><\/p>\n

To accomplish this, they used a range of journalistic tools, including data, documents, interviews and videos. The Times also found ways to invite readers to participate in their reporting, helping them better understand the scope of the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Force Report<\/h4>\n

In a 16-month investigation ending in 2019, the NJ Advance Media collected and digitized police forms and reports to produce a comprehensive statewide database of police use of force<\/a> in the United States. The resource allowed readers to view and search every use of force by both local officers and state troopers from 2012-2016, the most recent full year of data that was available at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon analyzing the data, the team found that Black people were three times more likely to have police force used on them than white people. In addition, just 10% of officers accounted for 38% of all uses of police force.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar projects to review<\/span><\/i><\/h5>\n