Accessibility links
Meg Anderson Meg Anderson is a reporter on NPR's National Desk.
Meg Anderson - 2019
Stories By

Meg Anderson

Sunday

Law enforcement walk with Leonardo Fabian Cando Juntamay as he was detained in the Bronx during ICE-led operations to apprehend illegal immigrants on Jan. 28, 2025 in New York, NY. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Law enforcement walk with Leonardo Fabian Cando Juntamay as he was detained in the Bronx during ICE-led operations to apprehend illegal immigrants on Jan. 28, 2025 in New York, NY. Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

National

Police say ICE tactics are eroding public trust in local law enforcement

Local police leaders have feared the erosion of public trust as a result of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Many officials say they're seeing signs that's happening.

ICE RAIDS POLICE TRUST 

Listen · 4:21
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5304236/nx-s1-5406074-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

The United States Institute of Peace building, Monday in Washington.

The United States Institute of Peace building Monday in Washington. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jose Luis Magana/AP

Politics

Law experts raise alarms over police action in DOGE Institute of Peace dispute

Washington, D.C., police were in an awkward position during this week's standoff involving the U.S. Institute of Peace when DOGE and Trump staffers sought access to the building to install a new president.

DC POLICE TOUGH SPOT

Listen · 3:53
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5332193/nx-s1-5397396-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Colorado State Trooper Ron Krasnisky shows the department's oral fluid drug screen testing device, used during a pilot program that ended earlier this year. The system uses a saliva collection device to test impaired drivers for marijuana use as well as other drugs.

Colorado State Trooper Ron Krasnisky shows the department's oral fluid drug screen testing device, used during a pilot program that ended earlier this year. The system uses a saliva collection device to test impaired drivers for marijuana use as well as other drugs. Kathryn Scott Osler/Denver Post via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kathryn Scott Osler/Denver Post via Getty Images

National

Driving while high is hard to detect. States are racing to find a good tool

Police are experimenting with various methods to determine whether drivers are under the influence of marijuana, but unlike alcohol, a number of factors make that difficult to know with certainty.

Driving while high is hard to detect. States are racing to find a good tool

Listen · 3:53
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5220351/nx-s1-5383929-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

National

Nearly 5 years after George Floyd murder, Minneapolis PD turns to LAPD for lessons

Nearly five years after George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer, the force is taking lessons from Los Angeles police who worked through the aftermath of the 1992 beating of Rodney King.

Nearly 5 years after George Floyd murder, Minneapolis PD turns to LAPD for lessons

Listen · 3:05
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5319318/nx-s1-5383413-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Students and community leaders pray outside a Chicago High School in the aftermath of a student's death from gun violence.

Students and community leaders pray outside a Chicago High School in the aftermath of a student's death from gun violence. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

National

In Chicago, cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise curbing youth violence

The program, which focuses on mentoring and therapy, relies on the idea that most violent crimes are emotional, not rational.

In Chicago, cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise curbing youth violence

Listen · 4:18
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5187049/nx-s1-5358314-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Detainees do a virtual visit with their attorneys or asylum officers during a media tour at the Port Isabel Detention Center hosted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Harlingen Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) on June 10, 2024 in Los Fresnos, Texas.

Detainees do a virtual visit with their attorneys or asylum officers during a media tour at the Port Isabel Detention Center hosted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Harlingen Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) on June 10, 2024 in Los Fresnos, Texas. Veronica Gabriela Cardenas/Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Veronica Gabriela Cardenas/Pool/Getty Images

National

Trump's challenge: where to house millions of immigrant detainees

One of the biggest hurdles to carrying out Trump's mass deportation plans is where to house the millions of people who are in the country without legal status. As many prisons and detention centers are already overcrowded, what options are there?

Trump's challenge: where to house millions of immigrant detainees

Listen · 4:25
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5218641/nx-s1-5325870-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

National

The prison population is going up as prisons struggle with staffing and overpopulation

The prison population has been creeping back upward. New laws in some states instituting harsher punishments threaten to further fill prisons, many of which are already understaffed and overcrowded.

PRISON POPULATION RISING

Listen · 2:56
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5203113/nx-s1-5317907-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

People attend a vigil on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol building to mourn the victims of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis.

People attend a vigil on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol building to mourn the victims of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

National

California man allegedly messaged Madison school shooter about plans ahead of attack

New information has emerged in the investigation into a school shooting at a small Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, though authorities are still searching for a motive.

Tuesday

National

Killer is identified in Wisconsin school shooting

Authorities in Madison, Wisc., don't yet know what led a student to open fire at Abundant Life Christian School killing a teacher, a fellow student and injuring six others.

Killer is identified in Wisconsin school shooting

Listen · 3:52
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5230819/nx-s1-5297711-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

National

The uncertain fate of federal investigations into police misconduct

Federal consent decrees can be a powerful legal tool to reform local police departments. They've stalled under Biden. What does Trump's second term mean for these court agreements?

The uncertain fate of federal investigations into police misconduct

Listen · 4:04
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5186940/nx-s1-5273420-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Ten states have recently passed laws effectively banning police from lying to juveniles during interrogations. But some advocates are pushing for a deception ban that would apply to everyone, not just kids.

Ten states have recently passed laws effectively banning police from lying to juveniles during interrogations. But some advocates are pushing for a deception ban that would apply to everyone, not just kids. Denis Novikov/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Denis Novikov/Getty Images

National

It's legal for police to use deception in interrogations. Advocates want that to end

Ten states have passed laws to ban the practice of lying to juveniles in custody during police interrogations. Now, one state wants to extend the ban to adults too.

It's legal for police to use deception in interrogations. Advocates want that to end

Listen · 3:54
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-4974964/nx-s1-5250695-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

A person wears a shirt in support of Amendment 3, a ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Florida. North and South Dakota are also voting on whether to legalize the drug.

A person wears a shirt in support of Amendment 3, a ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Florida. North and South Dakota are also voting on whether to legalize the drug. Rebecca Blackwell/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Rebecca Blackwell/AP

National

Three takeaways from crime ballot measures around the country

Voters will decide on a slew of criminal justice ballot measures this election. Legalizing some drugs, increasing penalties for others and boosting police pay are among the proposed changes.

What’s on the ballot? Drugs, police funding and getting tough on crime

Listen · 3:46
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5155201/nx-s1-5237894-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Tuesday

Thursday

Lillian Risser, left, and Sophia Loveland, right, approach an encampment in Humboldt Park on Sept. 23 in Chicago. Risser and Loveland are outreach workers for Thresholds, a mental health care provider in Illinois that works to move people out of encampments into more permanent housing.

Lillian Risser, left, and Sophia Loveland, right, approach an encampment in Humboldt Park on Sept. 23 in Chicago. Risser and Loveland are outreach workers for Thresholds, a mental health care provider in Illinois that works to move people out of encampments into more permanent housing. Jamie Kelter Davis for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Jamie Kelter Davis for NPR

National

Politicians often link crime and homelessness. The reality is more complex

As the homelessness crisis grows, it’s common for the public and politicians to conflate homeless encampments and criminal activity. But how much do these camps really affect crime in cities?

The reality of the link between crime and homelessness is complex

Listen · 4:43
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5092588/nx-s1-8b217224-3ac1-4b0b-b2fe-8198ef65aac0" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript