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Rachel Dissell

Rachel Dissell was a reporter for The Plain Dealer from 2002 until 2020. Her investigative pieces have changed laws, policies, hearts and minds. Her series, Johanna: Facing Forward, won the 2008 Dart Award, and her story, Case Closed, won the 2020 Dart Award.

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Rachel's Latest Articles

Cleveland Police removed officer names from discipline notices

Officials say the move prevents officer shaming. But does it raise transparency issues?

In greater Cleveland, federal Covid relief for criminal justice goes mostly to pay police

So far, a fraction of ARPA spending is on long-term violence prevention, while police salaries, technology, equipment, and facility upgrades top the spending list.

Cleveland has spent millions on police cameras. Why are the locations a secret?

Cleveland has spent over $7 million on surveillance cameras, but doesn't share where the cameras are or how they're used. The city cites citizen safety as a reason for shielding information, but has no policies on use of surveillance technology.

What do you want to know about criminal courts in Cleveland?

Submit your questions here, and The Marshall Project’s team will scrape records from the court’s public docket to answer them.

Who’s electing judges in the Cleveland area? Not those ensnared in the system

In Cuyahoga County, voting patterns have resulted in mostly White judges deciding the fate of mostly Black criminal defendants.

Cleveland residents want more information — and sooner — about local government meetings

Cleveland City Council regularly provides the public with little notice before their meetings: 1.7 business days, or 41 hours on average, Cleveland Documenters found. Is that reasonable notice? The Documenters interviewed nearly 80 residents in 26 Cleveland neighborhoods to find out.

“She was just ready to turn her life around” – Advocates and trans community remember the life of Tierramarie Lewis

Tierramarie Lewis had the drive to be one of the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland’s success stories. She came to Cleveland for a fresh start last year, but on June 12, police responding to a gunshot report found Lewis face down on the ground. Lewis’ death is weighing on the hearts and minds of those who tried to help her avoid the fate of far too many Black transgender women in Ohio and across the county.

Slavic Village effort takes HIV prevention to the neighborhood level in hopes of reversing trend

On a crisp fall day, a small group of masked community researchers fanned out on the streets of Slavic Village to ask residents a few questions about their sex lives. The effort was one part of a plan to understand why the Cleveland neighborhood has seen higher levels of new HIV cases diagnosed over the past five years, despite an overall downward trend in Cuyahoga County.

CareSource invests $5 million in fund to make Cleveland homes lead safe

CareSource, the state’s largest Medicaid managed care organization, will invest $5 million to help Cleveland families and property owners protect children from lead hazards in their homes.

Lead Safe Resource Center and Home Fund launches

Cleveland residents will have access to a new resource center and hotline dedicated to helping parents and property owners reduce the chances of lead poisoning by making homes in the city lead safe.

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