Michigan Public has received a two year grant extension from the Public Welfare Foundation to continue the station’s criminal justice reporting. This will allow the station to continue its work reporting on youth and adult criminal justice issues in Michigan.
The public often does not have insight into how the criminal justice system operates or how public dollars are spent on law enforcement, courts, prisons, and other services. Michigan Public’s Briana Rice will continue as a full-time reporter assigned to produce ongoing news coverage that will help contribute to the public dialogue on these important issues across the state.
The coverage will look at criminal justice from all sides, with a particular focus in the coming year on public interactions with the police, and how individuals and communities are impacted by the criminal justice system.
"This beat continues to allow Michigan Public to better serve communities that are highly policed, heavily surveilled, and have the most interaction with criminal courts, prisons, and the parole system," noted Vincent Duffy, Michigan Public News Director.
For over seventy years, Public Welfare Foundation has supported efforts to advance justice and opportunity for people in need. Today, the Foundation’s efforts focus on catalyzing a transformative approach to justice that is community-led, restorative, and racially just through investments in criminal justice and youth justice reforms in targeted jurisdictions, including Michigan. These efforts honor the Foundation’s core values of racial equality, economic well-being, and fundamental fairness for all.
