Join USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay and 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. 

For their reporting, Rusch and Smith have earned the 2025 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting.

RSVP here.