Join School of Journalism Director Gordon Stables for the presentation of the 2025 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting to Katey Rusch and Casey Smith for their series “Right to Remain Secret." 

After five years of research, UC Berkeley alumni Rusch and Smith found that hundreds of local law enforcement agencies throughout California had systematically used so-called “clean-record agreements” with officers accused of misconduct.

Together with Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program and the San Francisco Chronicle, Rusch and Smith published their findings in “Right to Remain Secret,” revealing that 163 law enforcement agencies in California had entered into the secret deals with nearly 300 officers and 108 of them had landed subsequent jobs at other police departments, as corrections officers or as security guards.

This program is open to all eligible individuals. USC Annenberg operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

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