Criminal Justice

Tampa Bay Times reporter Chris O'Donnell talks about his reporting on the Tampa polices department's crime-free housing program, which remains under fire even after Mayor Jane Castor announced changes to it. t.

Florida lawmakers introduced more than 3,000 bills in the 2021 legislative sessions, with about 8 percent of them being signed into law. Among them were bills with robust support from both Republican and Democrats.  These...

In the 2021 legislative session dozens of bills were introduced that would have done everything from shortening the sentences of inmates with good behavior to creating a registry of police misconduct.  But barely anything passed....

Two Republican congressional candidates embroiled in an alleged murder-for-hire plot had their case postponed until September. Anna Paulina Luna’s temporary restraining order against William Braddock will remain until the case’s new date. LISTEN: The race...

A Tampa man was sentenced to life in prison Monday after being found guilty of sexually battering a 10-year-old girl and pouring bleach on her genitals. LISTEN: A jury in Hillsborough County found 43-year-old Lewis...

The leaders of a Florida church were arrested for participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to federal court documents. The founder and vice-president of Melbourne’s Global Outreach Church were arrested after a member...

Florida law enforcement officials were praised Tuesday for implementing programs that offer civil citations instead of arrests for minor and non-violent offenses. Florida’s Direct Action & Research Training Center, or DART, is trying to push...

Florida congressmember and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist met with local leaders in St. Petersburg Friday to call for a statewide investigation into Florida’s connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot in D.C. Listen: Crist stood...

With the specter of Florida’s HB1 “anti-riot” bill looming, protestors in St. Pete returned to the streets Friday to demand justice for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed by police in a Minneapolis Suburb,...

Some of Tampa Bay’s biggest criminal justice stakeholders Monday said they’d support more access to arrest avoidance programs and would address racial bias issues. They spoke during an annual meeting of the Hillsborough Organization for...

A New Port Richey City Council meeting turned violent Tuesday when a Black Lives Matter activist was attacked outside of City Hall. One arrest was made after tensions between activists and a group called “community...

Members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus cite the Black Lives Matter movement as inspiration for a set of bills aimed at what it calls ‘fair and just policing.’ The bills come as some in...