Restrictions on hiring police chiefs from outside their departments are common in Massachusetts. In Revere, the mayor wanted the option to look for a top cop externally to clean up a "toxic culture" within the city's police force. But, a city law made that impossible.
The citations are numerous, including infractions related to speeding, attention to duty, preventable accidents and the safety of customers or MBTA property.
A WBUR analysis of state data found that gun dealers in the state sold almost 276,000 firearms from 2020 through 2021. Nearly two-thirds of those were handguns.
These “soft” inspections, or “walk-and-talks," are leaving buyers at risk.
Employers are required under state law to file workers' compensation claims, but COVID opened up a big gray area. Companies and insurers are taking advantage of the complexity.
Boston police used a "slush fund" to pay for a surveillance device that can grab cell phone data from suspects — and also from other phones nearby. The department says it has no policy on using the controversial spy gear.
Under Massachusetts' civil forfeiture system, police can confiscate property they suspect is part of a drug crime and prosecutors could hold it indefinitely, even when criminal charges have been dismissed. Trying to get money back is so onerous, legal experts say it may violate due process rights.
A WBUR investigation found that when people suffered from dire medical conditions in Massachusetts jails, they were often ignored and mistrusted, with fatal consequences. Here’s part one of “Dying on the Sheriff’s Watch.”
This is a snapshot in time amid a fast-moving pandemic, as the number of infected inmates, corrections officers and medical staff jumps by the day.
There is a vast wave of people and companies finding money-making opportunities in the time of COVID-19. They are jumping into the loosely regulated business of selling masks to hospitals...
In at least three Massachusetts deals to get PPE, masks were never delivered or their quality was subpar. In each of these cases, the state pre-paid millions of dollars to...
