Santa Clara County Crime & Justice Articles

California prisons are badly understaffed when it comes to doctors and psychiatrists. A new contract attempts to boost retention with substantial bonuses.

California cities are struggling to hire police in a tight labor market after the COVID pandemic. Some are raising by double digits and offering eye-catching bonuses.

Psychedelics are having a moment. A nationwide push to bring magic mushrooms and other psychedelics into the mainstream is gaining traction, and some Californians want in.

Law enforcement officials in the South Bay are launching a new program to assist in collecting unwanted firearms off the streets and throughout the community. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is launching a new Firearms Relinquishment Program beginning Aug. …

More California police departments are deploying body cameras. A new court ruling restricts how prosecutors can use footage of witness accounts at trial.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced Aug. 3 that he is sponsoring an “unprecedented” statewide ballot initiative that seeks to “transcend the bitter politics of gun control and save the lives of crime victims, the suicidal and children.” …

Almost half of the jobs for doctors and psychiatrists in California prisons are unfilled. Now, their union says it’s ready to strike over pay even as the state faces a steep budget deficit.

San Jose cops want a federal judge to throw out a class-action lawsuit filed by the NAACP and several residents who contend protesters were brutalized and maimed during the May 2020 racial justice protests, arguing that the city’s police officers …

The City of Morgan Hill and the Morgan Hill Police Department will host the 2023 National Night Out on Aug. 1, from 5-8pm at Civic Center Plaza, 17575 Peak Ave. Spend a summer evening with family, friends and neighbors in …

A yearlong investigation shows that a $100 million-a-year rehabilitation program for former California prisoners grew with little oversight from the state corrections agency. It's unclear how many parolees wind up back in prison.

A Bay Area woman sued her husband's employer after she became infected with COVID-19. The California Supreme Court found that giving her workers' comp could set a precedent that would imperil the system.

The first-in-the-nation state-appointed task force report contains hundreds of recommendations for reparation, including a proposal that the state apologize and make financial amends for slavery and decades of racist policies.

In a landmark case, California's Supreme Court will decide if cities must switch their at-large elections to a voting-by-district system after hearing oral arguments the Pico Neighborhood Association v. Santa Monica voting rights case June 27.

Karyn Sinunu-Towery is a former assistant district attorney and victims’ rights advocate with the Northern California Innocence Project.

Prospective jurors in Santa Clara County and the rest of the state are not paid on their first day of jury duty, then receive just $15 per day and 34 cents per mile, round trip from home. The new bill …

The population of transgender inmates in California prisoners surged by 234 percent in the years since the state adopted a first-in-the-nation policy allowing gender-affirming health care.

Learn about the charismatic leaders who founded Daughters of Bilitis, Mattachine Society, ONE Inc. and other “homophile movement” groups in the Golden State.

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.

A technological upgrade coming soon to the Gilroy Police Department will give officers the latest equipment and also allow the public to submit digital evidence to help solve crimes. The Gilroy City Council unanimously approved a 10-year contract with Axon …

Gov. Gavin Newsom took to his Twitter account to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would regulate gun sales and use nationwide, in a way that courts cannot change.