HFG Symposium on Crime in America
The Foundation sponsors an annual two-day symposium at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The event brings together leading researchers and policymakers with journalists to deepen public understanding of the most relevant crime and violence issues in the United States.
On March 3-4, 2022, John Jay College hosted the 17th Annual Harry Frank Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America. “Justice at the Crossroads: Is the Window of Reform Closing?” examined the progress and prospects of criminal justice reform in the U.S. in the post-George Floyd era.
The two-day event included twelve, moderated panels and a journalists’ roundtable. Highlights germane to The Foundation’s focus on violence research included the following panels:
Plenary Session: Does Reform Have a Future? (1:27)
Panelists: Jamila Hodge, Executive Director, Equal Justice USA; Michael Nutter, former Mayor Philadelphia; Insha Rahman, VP, Advocacy and Partnerships, Vera Institute of Justice. Moderator: Elizabeth Glazer, former NYC Justice Advisor
Panel Two: Crime Trends 2021-2022 (1:21)
Panelists: Alfred Blumstein, Erik Jonsson University Professor of Urban Systems Emeritus, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University; Richard Rosenfeld, Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri /St. Louis; Julia Schleimer, University of California-Davis Violence Prevention Research Program; Moderator: Stephen Handelman, Director, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
Panel Seven: Gun Violence (1:26)
Panelists: T. Markus Funk, University of Colorado School of Law; Kristen Rand, Legislative Director, Violence Policy Center; Joseph B. Richardson, Jr., The Joel and Kim Feller Professor of African-American Studies, University of Maryland; Moderator: Maurice Possley, Journalism Coordinator, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
Panel Twelve – Trailblazer Award and HFG Journalism Prizewinners Roundtable (1:44)
Announcement of winners of the 2021 H.F. Guggenheim prizes for excellence in criminal justice journalism. Introduction of this year’s Trailblazer Award winner, David Inocencio, founder of “The Beat Within” San Francisco prison writers workshop and, through him, prison writers nationwide, who are making a huge difference in perceptions of the justice system.
Complete recordings of the 2022 symposium can be accessed at The Crime Report.
HFG Awards for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting at John Jay College
The symposium recognized winners of the 2022 Harry Frank Guggenheim Awards for Excellence in Criminal Justice Journalism. The prizes, administered by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice, recognize the previous year’s best print and online justice reporting by a U.S.-based media outlet. Winners are chosen for the best series and best single story.
The 2022 award for best series went to Jim Mustian and Jake Bleiberg of the Associated Press for their series, “Beatings, Buried Videos and Cover-Ups at the Louisiana State Police,” which revealed a pattern of violence against mostly Black motorists.
The award for best single story went to Meribah Knight of Nashville Public Radio and Ken Armstrong of ProPublica for “Black Children Jailed for a Crime that Doesn’t Exist,” an examination of a wayward juvenile justice system in Tennessee’s Rutherford County.
The 2022 runner-up award for a series went to public radio station KQED in San Francisco for “On Our Watch,” a podcast series investigating police misconduct and excessive use of force in California.
Simone Weichselbaum and Sachi McClendon of The Marshall Project, and Uriel Garcia of the Arizona Republic were recognized as runners up in the single-story category for their story “U.S. Marshals Act Like Local Police With More Violence and Less Accountability.”
As part of the symposium John Jay College selected 20-30 Harry Frank Guggenheim Journalism Fellows to attend the event. The fellowship connects working reporters, producers and editors with leading criminal justice researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to better understand the dynamics of crime and violence.
For past awards and information on applying for HFG’s 2023 journalism programs, visit HFG’s Journalism Awards and Fellowships page.