Criminal Justice

Homicides are on decline in LA but shooting deaths of unhoused people remain disproportionately high

LAPD data shows at least 278 unhoused people have been shot and killed in Los Angeles since 2015. An investigation by LAist and The LA Local found that is an undercount.

An illustration of tents in a dark alley under the shadow of a large gun.

How a George Floyd-inspired California law accidentally weakened police accountability

Investigations into fatal shootings by California police take so long that officers often can't be decertified or prosecuted, a CalMatters investigation shows.

A woman with light skin tone, wearing a flannel shirt, holds a framed photograph of a man with light skin tone, wearing a black t-shirt, smiling. She stands in a patch of land with dirt and trees in the background.

Trial begins for man accused of starting deadly Palisades Fire

Prosecutors accuse Jonathan Rinderknecht of setting the Lachman Fire, which would eventually spark the Palisades Fire.

A distraught woman holds a bag while gesturing to a car as fire and smoke billow in the background.

Feds investigating an LA gang allege one of its leaders worked as a city ‘peace ambassador’

Local officials and nonprofit leaders say gang violence reduction programs shouldn’t be cast aside because of one incident.

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A man sits handcuffed in the back seat of a car.

Federal agents descend on MacArthur Park. Some locals question the show of force

Authorities say they'll continue to show up unannounced for raids targeting drug use in the area.

A military vehicle and a black and white police car are parked in the middle of a street. Yellow tape hangs off both vehicles, cordoning off an area lined with businesses.

In a first, California Supreme Court reverses a death sentence under new racial justice law

A Los Angeles prosecutor likened a Black murder suspect to a Bengal tiger. Decades later, the California Supreme Court found that trope showed unacceptable racial bias.

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Matthew Perry’s former assistant sentenced to more than 3 years in prison for ketamine-related death

Kenneth Iwamasa injected Perry with the ketamine that led to his death in 2023.

A man with light-tone skin has clear-framed glasses and a gray facial hair.

California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won’t know if it’s looking at your case

Courts in Los Angeles and Riverside counties are testing an artificial intelligence tool and deciding whether it can be used in high-stakes criminal cases.