Transparency
How the 'Dead Suspect Loophole' Lets Texas Police Hide Records of Jail Deaths and Shootings
A Reason investigation of a notorious Texas public records loophole found 81 cases where police hid records of shootings and deaths in custody.
New York's Top Court Shields Police Misconduct Records From Public View
It's up to state lawmakers to defy the will of the unions to change the rules.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
L.A. County's New Blue-Wave Sheriff Is No Friend to Criminal Justice Reform
Alex Villanueva openly wants to get rid of constitutional policing advisors and to conceal names of bad deputies from prosecutors.
Unarmed Bay Area Man Dies After Police Tasering; New California Laws Will Force Open the Records
It's harder now for law enforcement officials to conceal what happened in deadly encounters with citizens.
A Law Intended to Protect Crime Victims Is Being Used to Shield the Identities of Police Officers
The vague wording of Marsy's Laws allows law enforcement to classify themselves as "victims" after shooting suspects.
Data Showing Navy's Poor Aviation Safety Record Disappears From Website
If the Navy wants people to trust that it's taking steps to be better, less transparency isn't going to help.
Californians Will Finally Get Access to Records About Police Misconduct
Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills dramatically increasing transparency about law enforcement behavior.
California Lawmakers Vote to Give Citizens Access to Records About Police Misbehavior
State law keeps misconduct secret from the public. That may be about to change.
Oops! The EPA Published the Social Security Numbers of People Who Filed FOIA Requests
Thanks to a design bug in a government transparency website, dozens of social security numbers were mistakenly made public.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
L.A. Deputy Faked Evidence—but Was Still Used as a Witness in Criminal Cases for Years
Thanks to California's union-backed secrecy laws, prosecutors and defenders alike don't know about police misconduct.
Critics Blast Lack of Transparency Over White House Decision on Phone Call Readouts
Publishing readouts of the president's calls with foreign leaders has been a common practice for Republican and Democratic administrations-until now.
Police Seized Property of Close to 1,000 People in Michigan—Without Ever Convicting Them of Crimes
Thanks to a new state law, agencies now have to report how extensively civil asset forfeiture is used to take people's stuff.
We Sent an Intern to Virginia to Get Police Body Cam Footage. It Didn't Work.
What happened when Reason sent a 22-year-old non-lawyer to fight for transparency.
The Trump Administration Is Not Bothering to Estimate Civilian Drone Deaths
Obama's shamefully weak stab at transparency has been abandoned.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's Taste for Swampdweller Perks Is Distracting from His Deregulatory Agenda
Hated by activists, he should have known that he needed to be squeaky clean in his personal and professional life.
Trump Withholds JFK Files, Again
Historians will have to wait another three years, and maybe longer, before they can get their hands on the rest of the government's assassination documents.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Has Four Government Email Addresses, Which Is Three More Than He Needs
Unlike everyone else, Scott Pruitt apparently can't get enough email.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Keith Ellison Thinks 'Frosted' Glass Is an Assault on Government Transparency
The Minnesota Representative took CFPB Director Mike Mulvaney to task for 'frosted' glass office.
Troubled by Highway Seizures, Kansas Enacts Asset Forfeiture Transparency
Kansas police spend millions in asset forfeiture revenue under vague, lax laws. Now they'll have to open their books.
California Lawmakers Aim to Crack Down on Police Shootings, Open Police Conduct Records
Law enforcement is already resisting.
Will Stephon Clark's Killing by Police Finally Force Open California Misconduct Investigations?
Lawmakers have tried to counter the powerful law enforcement lobby and failed.
Police Can Refuse to Say Whether Records Exist, New York's Highest Court Rules
In a case brought by two Muslim men seeking surveillance records on themselves, the court approves the NYPD's "neither confirm nor deny" response.
Los Angeles Reverses Course on Police Body Camera Secrecy
A new plan would release footage in cases of officer-involved shootings and use of force.
The Justice Department Tries to Hammer Out What to Reveal from Carter Page's Surveillance Orders
Judge allows until summer for an unprecedented disclosure of warrant info from one of our most secretive courts.
Florida May Be About to Launch the Most Ambitious Criminal Justice Transparency Project in the U.S.
"This may seem like a great, obvious idea, but no one else has done this."
Pittsburgh Still Won't Let Anyone See Its Amazon Bid
City officials' excuses are getting more and more ridiculous.
Trump Defenders Should Support the N.Y. Times Effort to Unseal Secret Surveillance Documents
Why should we have to rely on Dem and GOP spin? Americans have every right to know what happened.
Three Years Ago, D.C. Passed Strong Transparency Laws For Asset Forfeiture. Nothing Happened.
"Without this information, we're all left in the dark."
Everybody's Talking About 'The Memo' and Ignoring the Surveillance Debate
Partisan posturing drowns out important civil liberties concerns.
NSA Gets Honest About Its Lack of Honesty
The surveillance agency's mission statement is updated to reflect reality: It doesn't answer to you.
Pittsburgh Tried to Hide Its Amazon Proposal by Claiming It Was a 'Trade Secret'
What trade would that be, exactly?
Meet the Republicans Who Care About Surveillance Abuse Only When Trump's the Target (UPDATE: Trump Signs 702 Bill)
They voted to expand federal snooping. Now they're outraged about how it's used.
Critical Data Is Missing From The FBI's Annual Crime Report And Researchers Want it Back
An organization of criminologists say key data missing from the FBI's annual crime report will make it harder to study murders and drug arrests.
New York Prosecutors Gave Themselves $3.2 Million in Bonuses With Asset Forfeiture Funds
One Suffolk County prosecutor, facing criminal charges for covering up the beating of a suspect, received $70,000 in bonuses.
How Congress Keeps Its Sexual Harassment Hush Money Secret
Documents from a $27,000 harassment settlement from Rep. John Conyers' office show how Congress keeps its tax-funded settlements secret.
This Activist is Prying Loose Missouri Drug Task Force Records One Lawsuit At a Time
And he was just awarded the largest penalty in state history for a public records violation.
For Heaven's Sake, Just Release the Rest of the JFK Files
Is Donald Trump really too weak to do this?
NYPD Says It Has No Backup of Its Asset Forfeiture Database and No Way to Retrieve It
The database cost $25 million.
Let Police Operate Drones for Emergencies—but with Full Transparency
Activists fear secret surveillance. Push for firmly enforced rules instead of bans.
California Enacts Likely Ineffective Drug Price Transparency Law
What will really keep drug (and any other) prices lower? Competition.
N.C. Body Camera Law Used to Shield Greensboro Police from Accusations of Abuse
A year after law passed exempting footage from public records laws, the inevitable consequences.
Thanks, Obama! Trump Is Expanding Your Effort to Imprison Leakers!
Justice Department announces tripling of investigations.
Baltimore Drops Dozens of Criminal Cases over Allegations of Planted Drugs
But for the body camera footage…
