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Is retail theft really rising?

Sep 11, 2023
Retailers want stiffer sentences for what they say is rising theft. But the data isn't clear, says Nicole Lewis of The Marshall Project.
Retailers are locking up some items on shelves to prevent theft.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

What makes a financial fraudster? It's more complex than you might think.

Apr 6, 2023
“Fool Me Once" by Kelly Richmond Pope looks at the world of financial fraud — and how seemingly regular people can become perpetrators.
Kelly Richmond Pope, an accounting professor, author and filmmaker, wrote about how fraudsters, victims and whistleblowers come in many forms.
Courtesy Richmond Pope

Inside California's new law allowing more people to seal old criminal records

Dec 9, 2022
The law could help people with arrest or conviction records who are applying for jobs or seeking housing, says David Harding of UC Berkeley.
Most provisions of SB 731, which was signed into law recently, will go into effect in July.
David Paul Morris/Getty Images

The Wirecard scandal revisited, two years later

We spoke to Dan McCrum, one of the journalists who first reported on the Wirecard scandal, about how his team's investigation unfolded.
A new Netflix documentary, "SKANDAL! Bringing Down Wirecard" depicts the 2020 effort to expose fraud at one of Europe's biggest financial services providers.
Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Property crimes are down since the pandemic began

Dec 18, 2020
Crime rates usually go up when the economy is bad. But not when there's low inflation.
When things like food or gas get more expensive and people are out of work, there’s more crime. But right now? Inflation is low.
rclassenlayouts via Getty Images

Hackers with a heart? Cyber crooks seek to provide charitable donations

Nov 18, 2020
Several cybercrime groups are trying to brand themselves as ethical. But it's hard to know a hacker's actual motivation in any particular case.
Some hackers view themselves as Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the  poor, one expert said.
Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images

Pennsylvania tries a new initiative to curb illegal gun purchases

Sep 11, 2019
Operation LIPSTICK (Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner-City Killing), reaches out to women and teenage girls to warn them about the risks of making straw purchases — up to ten years in prison under federal law.
Dorothy Johnson-Speight holds a picture of her son, Khaaliq. He was fatally shot in Philadelphia in 2001 by a neighbor who was a convicted felon and should not have been able to own a gun.
Miles Bryan for Marketplace

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Death, theft ... and the quest for the world's most coveted fungus

Jun 28, 2019
"I think the best analogy is probably sex or drugs," is how author Ryan Jacobs describes the allure of the truffle.
An inspector approved by the regional federation of truffle harvesters smells a black truffles (tuber melanosporum), on December 23, 2018, during an inspection at a truffle market in Rognes, southeastern France.
GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images

Palantir may go public, but can it turn a profit?

Nov 16, 2018
The surveillance software giant may be preparing for an IPO amid concerns about its business.
Peter Thiel is the co-founder of Palantir, named for a crystal ball in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

California bail industry grapples with fallout from a new law

Sep 27, 2018
Starting next year, a judge, not ability to pay bail, will decide who remains jailed in the state before trial.
Bail companies posted nearly $1.75 billion in surety bonds with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County from May 2016 to May 2017, a recent report found. Above, an employee at Gotham Bail Bonds near downtown Los Angeles walks to her desk.
Benjamin Gottlieb/Marketplace

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