Amanda Watford

Amanda Watford

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Amanda Watford (née Hernández) is a national reporter covering criminal justice and public safety for Stateline. She reports on the policies, systems and political decisions shaping how the United States responds to crime, with a focus on emerging state policy trends. Her coverage spans policing, crime victims' services, corrections, courts, drug policy, gun violence and more. She often uses data and interactive storytelling to examine how these systems evolve and how they affect communities across the country. Amanda also is a proud member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Researchers point to community violence programs, pandemic recovery in historic homicide decline
As candidates debate public safety ahead of the midterm elections, a new assessment of the nation’s historic homicide decline suggests there is no single explanation for the drop — and that some widely discussed enforcement strategies may have played little...
Cornell case highlights the patchwork of state laws governing intoxication, sexual consent
A former Cornell University student’s allegations of gang rape in 2024 have renewed attention on a difficult area of sexual assault law. A person can be awake, responsive and even able to move during a sexual encounter while still being...
Kratom, 7-OH laws diverge amid the spread of potent synthetic products
For years, the psychoactive compound kratom has been sold across much of the United States as an herbal supplement, available in powders, capsules and extracts with few of the restrictions applied to controlled substances. But the market is changing. Products...
District attorney elections linked to more prison admissions during ‘tough on crime’ era
County and local district attorneys oversaw higher state prison admissions during election years than in other years during the height of the nation’s “tough on crime” era, according to a new study from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. State...
CDC’s latest youth behavior report offers a narrower look at teen health
For more than 35 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has surveyed American high school students every two years about their health and behavior. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, established in 1991, draws a nationally representative sample...
States put criminal justice, marijuana policies before voters in 2026
Voters in nine states will weigh changes to their criminal legal systems and drug policies this fall. The Nov. 3 ballot measures include questions about pretrial release, fentanyl and human trafficking penalties, immigration enforcement, traffic cameras, drug cartels and marijuana...
Violent victimization at school rose among students in 2024, federal data show
Students ages 12 to 18 experienced higher rates of reported crime at school than away from school in 2024, according to a new federal analysis. But the overall rate of crime victimization at school has not changed significantly since 2014...
How 9/11 changed the way America surveils its citizens
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001. The terrorist attacks...
Women on parole face higher rates of mental health, housing challenges
Women on parole report higher rates of housing instability, poor health and serious mental health and substance use disorders than men on parole and women who weren’t on parole, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan think tank Council...
Violent crime in US fell at record pace in 2025
Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data . The estimated...
Mice may drive Lyme disease more than deer
For more than three decades, researchers have been tracking ticks, mice, oak trees and other wildlife in a New York forest to better understand what makes Lyme disease more likely to spread. Their latest findings challenge some long-held assumptions —...
‘Hidden homicides’: Families push states for more scrutiny of domestic violence deaths
Families who believe local officials prematurely ruled their loved ones’ deaths suicides or accidents — rather than investigating whether domestic violence played a role — are pushing lawmakers in a growing number of states to require additional scrutiny. Advocates call...