Criminal Justice - northwestnews

Audit paints troubling picture of WA’s overcrowded youth prison system

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard July 20, 2026 Nearly half of front-line staff at Washington’s overcrowded juvenile detention facilities leave within a year. Many report...

Critics question WA’s progress reducing solitary confinement in state prisons

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard May 6, 2026 If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. For the youth...

WA Supreme Court rejects state’s attempt to unblock sheriff eligibility law

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard May 5, 2026 A Washington Supreme Court commissioner on Tuesday declined to pause a judge’s ruling that blocked a new...

WA police lag on required deescalation, mental health training

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard April 17, 2026 Washington law enforcement officers are way behind completing deescalation and mental health training required under the state’s...

Lawsuit aims to block new eligibility requirements for WA sheriffs

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard April 3, 2026 Four eastern Washington sheriffs filed suit Friday seeking to block a new law that provides a path...

U.S. Marshals Capture Seattle Homicide Suspect After Mistaken California Jail Release

The U.S. Marshals Service has arrested a Seattle homicide suspect, Isaiah Andrews, who was mistakenly released from a California jail in October 2025. Andrews, 20,...

WA sheriffs urge partial veto of bill setting new standards for their jobs

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard March 13, 2026 Washington sheriffs are pushing Gov. Bob Ferguson to veto parts of a controversial bill that would set...

First grants awarded under WA’s new $100M police hiring program

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard March 10, 2026 The first two grants from Washington’s new $100 million effort to boost law enforcement hiring have been...

Kent Becomes First City in Washington to Secure HB 2015 Public Safety Funding

Kent, WA | February 26, 2026 — The Kent Police Department announced that the City of Kent has become the first city in Washington...

WA lawmakers work to keep bipartisan public defense proposals alive

by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard February 20, 2026 A framework for assuring the state eventually pays a much greater share of public defense costs in...

Proposed block on WA police hiring ICE agents fizzles out in Legislature

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard February 3, 2026 A proposal to bar law enforcement in the state from employing former federal immigration agents hired under...

WA crime victim advocates make another plea for state funding

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard January 27, 2026 For years, crime victim advocates in Washington have fought for state funding to make up for dwindling...

Racial disparities persist with WA state patrol traffic stops

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard December 22, 2025 Washington state troopers stop and search drivers of color more often than white Washingtonians, new data shows. Washington...

WA agency investigating police deadly force expanding to Pierce County

by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard December 15, 2025 The nascent Washington agency tasked with investigating incidents when police kill people will grow its footprint to...

Kent Police Department Opens Registration for Fall 2026 Community Police Academy

Washington State Marks Day of Civic Engagement on September 17

WA high court tosses natural gas measure approved by voters

Tag: Criminal Justice