Editorial Policy

Content types

Every canonical article has an explicit classification: Original News, Public Record, Syndicated Summary, Analysis, or Opinion. The label describes how the page was produced; crime category, popularity, and publication volume do not determine whether a page is news.

Public-record pages are kept separate from News and do not use NewsArticle structured data. Analysis and Opinion must be visibly labeled. A third-party summary must identify and link its source and contain meaningful editorial work rather than merely reproducing another publisher.

Human review and approval

Only a human editor can set the editorial status to Approved. Approval requires a non-public-record classification and publishes the article under the responsible editorial desk. Automated ranking, severity scoring, reader traffic, or inclusion in Top Stories can never substitute for approval.

The editor reviews the headline, body, classification, source attribution, publication date, byline, and any required automation disclosure before approval.

Sourcing and attribution

Articles should link the strongest available primary source, such as an agency, court, public filing, or direct statement. When reporting relies on another publisher, that publisher must be identified and linked. Source records can change; readers should consult the linked source and responsible agency or court for the latest status.

Arrests, charges, and public records

An arrest, booking, charge, or accusation is not a conviction. Anyone identified as arrested, booked, charged, or accused is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. Records may later be corrected, dismissed, sealed, expunged, or otherwise changed.

Corrections and withdrawals

Substantiated errors are corrected, reclassified, or withdrawn as appropriate. Requests are evaluated against authoritative sources under the Corrections Policy. A commercial relationship, advertisement, affiliate arrangement, house promotion, or traffic result does not control editorial classification or approval.