Deadly chases, few arrests
We found New Jersey police car chases often hurt bystanders and cops, and usually don’t end with an arrest. Using Python to analyze decades of federal crash data, we found New Jersey and Newark lead the nation for racial disparity in police car chase deaths.
As U.S. police struggle to recruit women, New Jersey fails female recruits
We obtained exclusive data that showed how women failed many times more often than men on police academy physical tests after New Jersey changed the rules.
A lying cop ruined a man’s life. It could happen to you.
One man’s life was ruined and two men were jailed after charges by a cop found to have lied. Two prosecutor’s offices said they didn’t know the officer had been fired for lying when they were acting on his word.
Hidden Misconduct: Your next NJ traffic stop could leave you face-to-face with a troubled cop
We informed top officials in a prosecutor’s office a cop they fought to fire wasn’t on desk duty as they expected. He was out on patrol, making arrests that their office was pursuing in court.
Are NJ police officers in your town failing drug tests? Now we know
Eight officers failed drug tests following mandatory random testing prompted by our reporting. The drug testing results also underscore a flaw in New Jersey’s system for policing: with hundreds of independent agencies, it’s hard to maintain uniform best practices.
EXCLUSIVE: Convicts profiting from pensions
Starting with a challenge by an editor to analyze more than one million lines of pension records, I learned SQL to join the pension database with a state conviction database and identify crooks collecting taxpayer funded retirement, including one behind bars, prompting the state to cut off his checks.
Residents resist tidal flooding, an increasing threat to the Jersey Shore
Pairing data analysis with personal narratives, this story depicts the human impact of climate change.
Mayor shares pain of son’s heroin death to spare others
An intimate profile portraying the reach of drug addiction to even prominent families on the Jersey Shore.
Authorities missed chances to arrest a life of crime
When police didn’t investigate a murder, thinking it was a natural death, a killer went free to strike again.
Courthouse gunman spoke of ‘judgement day’
A deeply troubled man fatally shot outside a courthouse had come into contact with many local authorities, including the reporters who wrote this story.
Boy’s rescue from alleged abuse almost came too late
Slipping through cracks in reporting requirements, a boy was abused, nearly starving to death.