In 2020, the increase in homicides in dozens of American cities was record-breaking. Yet, less...
A Look at Recent Research Shows That Youth Incarceration Continues to Fail Kids and Their Communities, While Negatively Impacting Public Safety
Report highlights "overwhelming and ever-increasing evidence that incarceration is most often not...
Op-ed: Kids With Trauma Need Support Sooner
I don’t remember my mother and father ever being together. My nana was the primary caregiver for...
Prisons increasingly offer incarcerated people photo copies of letters instead of the real thing
Increasingly, people in prison receive photocopies of the mail their families send.
Lawsuit Challenges “Unconstitutional” LA County Bail Practices
At least ten people who could not afford to post bail died in Los Angeles jails without having been...
Why the death of the LASD K-9 named Spike still matters
Two years ago, on Oct 29, 2020, a K-9 dog named Spike who worked for the Los Angeles County...
A look at how mass shootings harm the health & well-being of communities
A growing body of research reveals that the negative effects of mass shootings spread much farther...
Will the U.S. Supreme court dismantle Native American children’s protection from adoption by non-Indian families?
“...the policy is for Congress to make," said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson "And Congress...
Fatal shootings: California’s bid to police its police is lagging
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minnesota at police hands, California stepped up with...
Students Experiencing Homelessness Are Supposed to Get Extra Help. Here’s How California Can Do Better
On a sunny morning in March 2014, Yenni Rivera picked up her infant son and stepped outside her...
Update on LASD recruits injured, several critically, when hit by speeding SUV in devastating incident
Slightly before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, November 16, an SUV traveling southbound on Mills...
Op-Ed: Reform – Not Crime – Was the Winning Message in 2022
Despite months of campaign ads bombarding voters with bodybag imagery & crime scene videos, last...
Veterans Day: With deep gratitude and respect for those who have served
Below, as it is traditional for WitnessLA, we gathered some literary thoughts and also some music...
VOTE! And, while you wait for election results, watch for a new story on K-9 Spike
Yep. It’s finally arrived. Today is voting day. This means, among other things...
Researchers talked to 100 people about their experiences in solitary confinement, & California fails to get its much needed solitary reform: here’s what you need to know
Editor’s Note When John McCain was a prisoner of war, he was beaten regularly, suffered...
Mother of Shaylene Graves Shares With Prison Officials Policy Recommendations That Could Have Saved Her Daughter’s Life
On October 6, 2022, on an unprecedented presentation to California prison officials, the mother of...
Ray Leyva, LA County’s respected former undersheriff who would have challenged Villanueva, has died
Prior to his diagnosis Leyva was planning to run for sheriff against Alex Villanueva. But it was...
After Months of Uncertainty and Rising Jail Numbers, LA’s Office of Diversion and Reentry Gets Funding for 750 More Beds
For the past year and a half, the Los Angeles County Office of Diversion and Reentry’s housing...