Lauren Kirchner

New York City's crime lab has been a pioneer nationally in analyzing especially difficult DNA samples. But the recent disclosure of the source code for its proprietary software is raising new questions about accuracy.

Officials are again pointing to the need for mass surveillance to take down terrorists. Here’s what we know about how well it works.

When big data uses bad data, discrimination can result.

A data scientist’s experiment reveals surprising information about interconnected smart devices.

Court filings bring national attention to local funding issues.

Corporations are increasingly relying on algorithms to make business decisions, and that raises new legal questions.

The Lacey Act, a 115-year-old law that seeks to protect threatened species, is still going strong.

New research finds a racial disparity.

To be successful, re-entry programs must work to facilitate more interaction between former inmates and potential role models in their new neighborhoods.

Five years after the Fair Sentencing Act, the government assesses the change.

Why doesn’t the Environmental Protection Agency count incarcerated populations in its impact statements?

As drug courts spread across the world, new standards and best practices aim to hold them all accountable.

A new consultancy firm offers advice for first-time detainees, from someone who’s been there.

Twenty years after abolishing parole, one state is examining the impact (and the politics).

A conversation about the limitations of the “broken windows” theory and our unreasonable expectations of the police.

Meridian, Mississippi, is the latest district to face consequences for disproportionately punishing black students.

Hepatitis C is common behind bars, but sick prisoners aren’t getting treatment.

The Justice Department’s “Ferguson Report” will join a small number of significant public documents to be bound and sent to bookstores.

New research suggests that maintaining methadone treatment in jails and prisons would save lives.

Many say getting arrested, and then helping those in prison, is part of the point.

Why police need special training on how to interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Pediatricians and psychologists say unnecessary restraints can traumatize kids and encourage worse behavior.

The only federal law that regulates detention conditions for juveniles is due for an upgrade.

While Baltimore erupts, the Supreme Court considers a timely case.

Research shows that “feeling safe” is highly subjective.

Across the country, non-white drivers are more likely to be stopped, and those stops are more likely to lead to frisks, searches, and tickets.

Should kids be led out of class in handcuffs for being late to school?

Advocates argue that early release is the most compassionate and cost-effective solution.

A new Supreme Court case could affect thousands of prisoners serving life sentences without parole for crimes they committed as teens.

A new analysis of crime stats suggests that economics trumps biology in causing violent behavior in teenagers.

Offenders with brain injuries make up a huge percentage of prison populations; they also enter the criminal justice system earlier, and stay in it longer.

Meryl and Susan Goldsmith’s documentary, The Syndrome, has been boycotted and protested against for its portrayal of SBS as outdated science.

Bioethicists, geneticists, attorneys, and cops weigh the pros and cons of a radical new science.

Texas A&M researchers explain how community-based programs rehabilitate juvenile offenders better, and for less money, than correctional facilities.

The factors and figures behind the so-called “foster care to prostitution pipeline”

The debate about how to alleviate excessive caseloads continues.

...and save money at the same time.

The FBI once called radical environmental activists the “number one domestic terror threat,” but crimes of “eco-terrorism” are practically non-existent now.

Crimes targeting black and transgender Americans persist, but they are under-reported and under-recorded.

Mistrust and resentment may make arrestees more violent once they’re in prison.

Scientific research reveals the harmful effects of Tasers, on both body and mind.

Recent research about ways to deal with police misconduct, and some of its unintended consequences.

Vanderbilt University’s Jonathan Metzl and Kenneth MacLeish address our anxieties and correct our assumptions.

States pay hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to keep each juvenile offender behind bars. A new report calculates that long-term costs of incarceration could add up to $21 billion annually.

New research cautions journalists against harming their most vulnerable sources.

Visualize cool beers on warm summer nights.

A new study finds an inconsistent patchwork of policies across states for how juvenile records are sealed and expunged.

The tools and methods have evolved over the decades, but the crime remains the same.

Where do you go for help when the people who are meant to keep you safe are the real danger?