The Nevada Independent

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The Nevada Independent

Criminal Justice

To solve rising overdoses, Nevada prisons may turn to a sidelined solution: dogs. 

Nevada is one of the few states that does not have a canine unit in its state prison system, according to the state's correctional officers union. Such units have long been embraced as a way for prisons and law enforcement to detect drugs and conduct searches.

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Guards walk inside High Desert State Prison as seen on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.

Nevada prisons blame overdoses on the mail. Skeptics question the state's research.

To curb drug use, the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) is proposing restricting physical mail from entering facilities and replacing it with electronic copies — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from criminal justice advocates who see physical mail as a morale-boosting connection between inmates and the outside world.

Gov. Joe Lombardo leaves Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro's (D-Las Vegas) office inside the Legislature on the final day of the 83rd session in Carson City.

How Nevada passed immigration protections through a Republican crime bill

After the crime bill was reworked by Democrats, the new law will now curtail the ability of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to act on school grounds. It will also require the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) to create a detainee locator for all incarcerated people, including those waiting to be picked up by ICE.