Free to Shoot Again

What I Learned From Making Dozens of Public Records Requests for Police Data

Data

What I Learned From Making Dozens of Public Records Requests for Police Data

To tailor an effective request, first consult the database's user manual. Here are 21 examples that might help.

Sarah Ryley
Subject of Trace/BuzzFeed Investigation Found Not Guilty in Murder Retrial

Free to Shoot Again

Subject of Trace/BuzzFeed Investigation Found Not Guilty in Murder Retrial

Devon Little, a 29-year-old Baltimore man who had been sentenced to life in prison for a 2016 murder that he said he didn’t commit, was freed on November 22 after a second jury found him not guilty in a retrial…

Sarah Ryley
Most Shooters Go Free in Chicago’s Most Violent Neighborhoods — While Police Make Non-Stop Drug Arrests

Chicago

Most Shooters Go Free in Chicago’s Most Violent Neighborhoods — While Police Make Non-Stop Drug Arrests

An analysis of city data finds disparities in how the police pursue criminal offenses between white and non-white neighborhoods. “They’ll get a person for marijuana before they’ll get a person for murder.”

Sarah Ryley
We Obtained Data on 4.3 Million Crimes. Now It’s Yours to Use.

Data

We Obtained Data on 4.3 Million Crimes. Now It’s Yours to Use.

We're making the data available to journalists, researchers, policymakers, and everyone else interested in examining gun violence.

Sarah Ryley
Prosecutor to Retry Murder Case Examined by The Trace/BuzzFeed News

Free to Shoot Again

Prosecutor to Retry Murder Case Examined by The Trace/BuzzFeed News

The Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office will retry a murder case that was featured in our January investigation, co-published with BuzzFeed News, about the frequent failure to solve shootings. Devon Little, a 28-year-old man from West Baltimore, was the…

Sarah Ryley
Q&A: What Will It Take to Solve More Shootings?

Free to Shoot Again

Q&A: What Will It Take to Solve More Shootings?

Professor David Kennedy on the link between effective investigations and community trust.

Sarah Ryley
Murder Conviction of Man in Trace/BuzzFeed News Investigation Overturned

Free to Shoot Again

Murder Conviction of Man in Trace/BuzzFeed News Investigation Overturned

Devon Little’s case was the subject of an investigation into how police departments fail to solve shooting cases, leaving perpetrators free to strike again.

Sarah Ryley
5 Things to Know About Cities’ Failure to Arrest Shooters

Data

5 Things to Know About Cities’ Failure to Arrest Shooters

The likelihood that police will solve homicides and assaults has plummeted — particularly when the culprit uses a gun, and particularly when the victims are black or Hispanic.

Sarah Ryley, Jeremy Singer-Vine, and Sean Campbell
Shoot Someone In a Major U.S. City, and Odds Are You’ll Get Away With It

Free to Shoot Again

Shoot Someone In a Major U.S. City, and Odds Are You’ll Get Away With It

A shocking number of shootings go unsolved. In some police departments, hundreds of cases aren't investigated at all. A joint investigation by The Trace and BuzzFeed News.

Sarah Ryley, Jeremy Singer-Vine, and Sean Campbell