Thread by @charlesornstein

I’m so happy, I could scream!! 😱 😱 Our Local Reporting Network partner, @adndotcom, won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for our collaboration on Lawless, an examination of sexual violence in Alaska and why the problem isn’t getting better. 1/x

This is a tremendous honor for @kylehopkinsAK and the entire village at @adndotcom and @propublica that poured their heart and soul into telling this important story. propublica.org/series/lawless 2/x

Since statehood, Alaska has robbed Native villages of the most basic of human rights: access to first responders. Our work with @adndotcom laid bare this failing, two-tiered criminal justice system. 3/x

Prior to the @adndotcom and @ProPublica investigation, no state or federal agency knew how many modern Alaska communities lacked law enforcement nor how many police officers with criminal records had been hired in violation of state law. 4/x

Following the publication of our first major story, U.S. Attorney General William Barr visited the state and then declared the lack of law enforcement in rural Alaska to be a federal emergency. propublica.org/article/police… 5/x

Here’s what we found:
-- One in three Alaska communities have no local police of any kind. features.propublica.org/local-reportin…
-- Some villages that lack state-funded law enforcement routinely hire criminals as cops. propublica.org/article/stebbi… 6/x

Also:
-- A program designed to improve rural law enforcement has failed by every measure despite dire warnings from an Alaska Native officer who took his own life in 2005, after raising concerns about the lack of state funding and support. propublica.org/article/the-la… 7/x

And:
-- State Troopers are patrolling suburban, mostly white neighborhoods at the expense of Native villages. propublica.org/article/lookin… 8/x

Our series ended with a list of six practical solutions to Alaska’s law enforcement crisis, based on interviews with experts, combined with a dozen op-eds from village leaders, the Alaska Congressional delegation and sexual assault survivors. propublica.org/article/alaska… 9/x

Changes are coming. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage announced the hiring of additional rural prosecutors while Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will now hire 15 additional rural troopers. 10/x

Moreover, the Alaska Police Standards Council has proposed changing state regulations that govern the hiring of Village Police Officers. propublica.org/article/we-fou… 11/x

The stories shook readers. Whistleblowers in government leaked documents; retired counselors volunteered to help. An Iowa police officer organized donations of bulletproof vests and stun guns for cops in one village mentioned in the first article. propublica.org/article/how-a-… 12/x

In the hub community of Kotzebue we organized that city’s first public discussion of sexual abuse. propublica.org/article/kotzeb… 13/x

It was a real pleasure to work with @adndotcom editor @davidhulen and the entire team. Such pros! We are honored to continue working with them this year too. 14/x

If you want to know the story behind the story, @kylehopkinsAK wrote it up: propublica.org/article/why-we… 15/x

Finally, local news needs our support. ProPublica is doing our part. Please subscribe to your local paper and to @adndotcom. And, if you are moved, consider a donation to @propublica: donate.propublica.org/give/141278/#!…. 16/x

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