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AJC Investigations

Latest investigations
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC & Ga. Dept.

AJC INVESTIGATION

Smuggling cases at Georgia prison fizzle: Drugs were never tested

At a Georgia prison notorious for drug smuggling, 23 cases in four years were dismissed because the suspected drugs never made it to the state crime lab

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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Atlantaโ€™s 911 system was failing. A year later, itโ€™s picking up the pace.

The Atlanta E911 call center has improved, answering 90% of calls within the 20-second standard.

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Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC

Locked up as teens: Lawsuit says Georgia gave them no path to parole

Two federal lawsuits accuse the Georgia parole board of violating U.S. Supreme Court rulings around the incarceration of teenagers.

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Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Controversial Okefenokee mine project delayed as company fails to post required funds

Twin Pines Minerals has not paid the $2 million in financial reassurance needed for its permit to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp. It's the latest sign of financial distress.

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Credit: TNS

Two Fulton Jail inmates die in past week

Two Fulton County jail inmates died in the past week, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.

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Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC

Can intelligence experts make schools safe? Cobb quietly commits millions to find out.

Cobb County School District paid nearly $2.6 million for the program without taking a board vote.

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Credit: Philip Robibero

New normal in Georgia schools: Vape sensors, panic buttons, campus police

Surveillance cameras, panic buttons and campus police โ€” state funds fuel a growing industry.

EPA to roll back regulations on some toxic chemicals found in Georgia

Federal data reveals 48 Georgia public water systems have reported the presence of these โ€œforever chemicals.โ€

More than $600M to overhaul a prison system in crisis. But itโ€™s just the start

State budget includes money to fix state prison system suffering from violence, massive understaffing and security lapses.

Have you had experience with GNETS? The AJC wants to hear from you.

Chases Unchecked

Chases Unchecked: How GSP pursuits make Georgiaโ€™s roads less safe AJC investigation reveals more than half of 6,700 GSP pursuits in five years ended in crashes, causing 1,917 injuries and 63 deaths.

Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com

Part 1: How state patrol pursuits endanger Georgians

An AJC investigation of 6,700 GSP pursuits found more than half ended in crashes, often injuring bystanders.

Part 2: GSP tactic meant to end chases leads to death at high speeds

State troopers face few limits in using the PIT maneuver at high speeds, leading to 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Part 3: A GSP chase left a bystander with $124K in medical bills. State law said he couldn't sue

Georgia's Department of Public Safety is often shielded from lawsuits, giving the agency wide discretion in chases.

Georgia Prisons

A prisoner looks out of his cell in the Special Management Unit at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in this 2015 file photo. In a damning ruling, U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell wrote in April that state prison officials showed no desire or intention to make the required changes to SMU's solitary confinement practices. (David Goldman/AP 2015 file)

Credit: AP

Georgia prison system engages in deception as crisis builds

Response to a 2019 prison lawsuit settlement exposes how Georgia Department of Corrections officials block potentially damaging information and present falsified documents.

Georgia prison corruption series: Inside Job

Deaths at record level in Georgia state prisons as crisis deepens

The number of deaths inside Georgia prisons in the first half of 2024 exceeds the number of prisoner deaths during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police Deadly Force

ajc.com

Atlanta police held him down for 17 minutes before he died; citizen board failed to review

AJC investigation finds 39 police shootings and in-custody deaths awaiting review by the panel since 2020, including the fatal arrest of Ricardo Dorado Jr.

Citizen board yields to council demands for more police oversight

Changes eyed to handling of Atlanta police deadly force

City Council members ask sharp questions about lack of police deadly force investigations

City Council members grill official on failure to investigate police deadly force cases.

Senior Care

Patricia Miele went missing from Greenwood Place Assisted Living and Memory Care in Marietta in November, prompting an all-hands-on-deck search involving multiple police agencies. Now, an inspection report raises questions about the facilityโ€™s adherence to community protocols. (Marietta Police)

Credit: Marietta Police Department

89-year-old wandered away and died after Marietta senior care home failed to check on her

New report says assisted living facility with previous staffing citation didn't notify police for nearly two hours after she went missing.

Still unprotected: Senior care homes skate by with few fines

In 2020, Georgia passed reforms to better hold assisted living and personal care homes accountable for violations โ€” four years later, the sector looks much the same.

Dozens go missing from Georgia senior care homes, some with deadly results

AJC investigation: Three residents wandering off from senior care facilities have died since November 2023. Such "elopements" often result in low fines from state regulators.

Data Journalism

The Washington County Courthouse is located in downtown Sandersville. In five of the past six elections, a Democrat has been chosen for president in the east Georgia county. (Miguel Martinez/AJC 2024)

Credit: Miguel Martinez

How Georgia counties shifted in the 2024 election

Most Georgia counties have shifted to the right, setting the stage for Donald Trump's victory. Here is deep look at county-level results for the recent presidential elections.

See how Cobb County and Gwinnett county precincts voted on transit referendums

In both counties, โ€œyesโ€ votes were more likely in neighborhoods along the busy interstate corridors of I-75 and I-85, according to analysis of voting by precinct.

The STD epidemic has slowed dramatically in the U.S. but not in Georgia

The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia cases remained below prepandemic levels.

American Dream for Rent

Aerial view of Winslow at Eagles Landing neighborhood, where large number of homes are owned by investors, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in McDonough. Two companies รขโ‚ฌโ€ Invitation Homes and Progress Residential รขโ‚ฌโ€ each own more than 10,000 homes in the metro Atlanta area as of, or near the end of, the 2nd quarter 2022. In fact, there are 11 companies with ties to private equity that own more than 1,000 homes, according to an AJC analysis. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com

Investors elbow out individual home buyers

Investors slam tenants with fees, evictions

Investors zero in on Black neighborhoods

911 Calls

Tonya McElrathbey embraces her daughter Brianna McElrathbey outside her house during a family reunion as the other siblings pose in the background. Tonyaโ€™s family has always been together, but their bond grows stronger after Briannaโ€™s incident when she was shot on January 2, 2024. Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez

911 callers left waiting on hold across metro Atlanta

How metro Atlantaโ€™s 911 systems evolved after series of tragedies

Fewer emergency callers are placed on long holds as metro Atlanta 911 agencies improve staffing problems and technology breakdowns.

Gwinnett County and a 911 call nightmare

Dangerous Dwellings

Danielle Russell wiped her tears as she continued to deal with problems in her apartment; even though the court ordered the Pavillion Place complex to make her home habitable, the opposite happened the facilities continued to deteriorate. Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

At violent apartment complexes, business model thrives on housing shortage, government inaction

AJC INVESTIGATION: The Atlanta areaโ€™s most dangerous apartments increasingly are owned by private equity firms and other absentee investors whose business model traps tens of ...

Dangerous Dwellings Part 2: Making money from misery

Dangerous Dwellings Part 3: Georgiaโ€™s renter protections among nationโ€™s weakest

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More Investigations

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Family begs Atlanta council for answers after 2021 police shooting

The family of Gabriel Parker, who was fatally shot in July 2021, told City Council members the wait for the oversight board to investigate is excruciating.

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Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Georgia man accused of creating lewd AI images of minors indicted, denied bond

Police say the Pepsi vendor used his access to Gilmer County schools to photograph female students and used artificial intelligence to turn the images into lewd pornography.

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Credit: Atlanta Police

Kick, sexual assaults: Serious injuries by Atlanta police not investigated by citizen board

The APD has not notified the Atlanta Citizen Review Board about in-custody injuries, including kicking and sexually assaulting civilians.

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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Deadly crash reignites debate over Georgia State Patrolโ€™s pursuit practices

A Georgia State Patrol chase that that killed a 19-year-old bystander in Atlanta last week thrust the agency into the middle of a public debate about police pursuits.

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Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Advocates seek to curb GSP high-speed chases after Atlanta bystander killed

Chase that killed bystander in Atlanta's Little Five Points spurs calls for 'immediate' Georgia State Patrol reforms.

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Credit: Miguel Martinez

Atlanta chief backs citizen review of police deadly force

Follow on to an AJC investigation into failure of citizen review board to probe cases of police deadly force. Police chief supports its oversight role and pledges cooperation.

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Credit: Getty/AJC illustration

Fizz, anonymous gossip app, attracts chatter and cyberbullying

At schools across Atlanta, Fizz collects GIFs, polls and posts where students comment and engage in daily banter that routinely turns into bullying.

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Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

How metro Atlantaโ€™s 911 systems evolved after series of tragedies

Fewer emergency callers are placed on long holds as metro Atlanta 911 agencies improve staffing problems and technology breakdowns.

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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Georgia AI-generated child pornography case spurs legislative action

The issue came to Georgia with the arrest of a Pepsi vendor who took advantage of his access to a local high school to take photos of girls he encountered.

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Credit: Christina Matacotta for The Atlanta Journal-

Citizen board yields to council demands for more police oversight

Changes eyed to handling of Atlanta police deadly force