Reporting on arrests

Have students review crime coverage from their local community for the last 3-6 months. Students should count the number of stories that report on arrests or allegations. Next, have students find data from their county’s district attorney or court system on the outcomes of arrests. Ask students to identify the percent of cases that are eventually dismissed. If local data isn’t available, students can look at data about case dismissals for several states, including Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah, on the Measures for Justice website.

Facilitate a discussion with the following questions:

• Based on the data you looked at, what usually happens after someone is arrested?
• What information is missing from news stories about arrests?
• How can reporters avoid reporting incomplete information about criminal cases?