Tahoe Truckee Region Local News: Crime & Justice


All Local Crime & Justice News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: California cities switch to more inclusive, district-based elections system.
Voting Rights...the Final Frontier

Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/12/2025
A California appeals court rules a baker can’t refuse to sell a generic cake to a lesbian couple. It’s part of a series of cases shaping the debate over free speech and anti-discrimination laws.

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02/10/2025
Interviews suggest some people swept up in Trump’s immigration crackdown are dedicated to their families and communities — not hardened criminals.

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01/27/2025
One of President Trump’s first executive orders threatened to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. California is one of them.

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01/24/2025
Image for display with article titled South Lake Tahoe PD Makes First Prop 36 Arrests

In 2024, CA voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 36, which was designed to help combat issues surrounding theft and drug-related crimes. One of the changes in Prop 36 added a law that allowed charging individuals for a felony if they commit a theft and have two or more prior theft convictions.

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01/21/2025
Image for display with article titled ICE Presence Was Confirmed in South Shore Last Tuesday

Last Tuesday, both social media and news outlets had mixed reports on whether or not there was an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence in South Lake Tahoe.

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01/09/2025
State prisoners have long been a part of California’s firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

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01/06/2025
After two reparations bills stalled in the final day of session last year, reparation advocates are campaigned at the state Capitol to drum up support for the same measures.

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01/05/2025
Image for display with article titled South Lake Tahoe Police Warn of Scam

Phone scammers are posing as "AMBER Alert representatives", offering to "register" your children, according to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department's Facebook.

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01/03/2025
While cities in California continue to pass ordinances to combat illegal sideshows, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws that go into effect this year statewide to give municipalities more legal tools to address them. 

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01/02/2025
California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.

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12/26/2024
Californians accused of certain drug and retail theft crimes may already be facing stiffer penalties under an initiative voters passed this year, alongside related bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. 

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12/26/2024
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

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12/16/2024
California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

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11/21/2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into law in September 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd. For the first time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the criminal legal system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

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11/18/2024
Image for display with article titled Measure T Trial Date Set for Day Before Thanksgiving

The measure prohibiting vacation home rentals in residential areas will once again be heard in the El Dorado County Superior Court of California. A trial is scheduled on Nov. 27 on issues a higher court sent back.

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11/10/2024
California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

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11/06/2024
Image for display with article titled LTUSD Responds to Post-Election Threats

School districts across the country have been receiving reports of potential threats following the election.

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10/22/2024
With proponents of Proposition 36 raising nearly $15 million so far — about three times as much as its opponents — and 71% of likely voters in support, it appears the statewide ballot measure will pass in November. And that’s exactly what immigrant rights advocates are worried about.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/16/2024
Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing.