Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service covered a wide range of stories focused on central city neighborhoods during 2015. NNS reporter Jabril Faraj explains why the two stories republished here are his favorites of those he wrote this year.
Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Posted inNews, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Favorite of 2015: Residents of poor neighborhoods see more than their share of costly municipal citations
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service covered a wide range of stories focused on central city neighborhoods during 2015. NNS reporter Brendan O’Brien explains why the story republished here is his favorite of those he wrote this year.
Posted inNews, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Former sex offenders left out in the cold by city residency restrictions
A new law, passed in 2014 to restrict where former sex offenders can live, is creating a homeless population of recently released offenders who are harder to track and have nowhere to go.
Posted inCommunity, News, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Ex-convicts advocate for restored rights, prison system reform
Formerly incarcerated individuals are working to change how inmates are treated in prison and increase their successful re-entry into society.
Posted inNews, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Community involvement, more dialogue with police key to public safety
Community organizers gathered recently to discuss crime, policing and local organizing at the Neighborhood Safety Symposium held by LISC Milwaukee.
Posted inPublic Safety & Criminal Justice, Special Report
Defendants who can’t afford attorneys pay a steep price
Most defendants in Municipal Court don’t have a lawyer because they say legal representation is too expensive. Those who are represented by counsel fare much better. Between 2011 and 2014, only 8 percent of cases without an attorney were dismissed, while 57 percent involving an attorney were successfully defended.
Posted inPublic Safety & Criminal Justice, Special Report
Special Report: Residents of poor neighborhoods see more than their share of costly municipal citations
The Milwaukee Police Department writes a disproportionate number of citations in the poorest areas of the city, where many residents do not have the means to ever pay their fines.
Posted inNews, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Youth-serving organizations seek role in city initiative to curb youth violence
Groups that address youth violence at the neighborhood level said the city’s new initiative could have a big impact if it empowers organizations already working on the issue.
Posted inEconomic Development, News, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Ex-offender training program urges employers to be ‘bigger than profits’
Pro Trade Job Development, a local skilled trades training program, kicked off a push to secure commitments from 100 area employers to employ 100 individuals re-entering society from the criminal justice system.
Posted inHealth and Wellness, News, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
New group home gives hope to girls transitioning out of trafficking
The first shelter in Milwaukee County dedicated specifically to young girls coming out of sex trafficking opened recently to provide a unique kind of support.