A Pulitzer-winning team of journalists from AL.com earned recognition today in the National Headliner Awards for their reporting that exposed predatory policing in the small town of Brookside.

AL.com’s work won the 2023 Best in Show award for all newspapers and first place in the category of investigative reporting in newspapers not in a top 20 media market.

“What an astonishing revelation: A small Alabama town has turned into an extortion racket run by its cops,” the contest judges said. “Within days of publication, the police chief was out as was half the force. So many gold nuggets are to be found in this remarkable series.”

John Archibald, the lead reporter for the project, worked with investigative reporter Ashley Remkus, data reporter Ramsey Archibald and investigative editor Challen Stephens to chronicle the rise of the Brookside Police Department and continue reporting through its downfall. The reporting, which freed people from jail and prompted Alabama legislators to pass new laws, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting on Monday.

[AL.com wins two Pulitzer Prizes, one for local reporting, one for commentary]

The reporting also won a George Polk Award for local reporting and the Hillman Prize for web journalism.

The Brookside coverage is part of a series, Banking on Crime, that examines policing for profit and the criminalization of poverty in Alabama. The series is a finalist in the multimedia category of the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards and was named a finalist for the Knight Award for Public Service from the Online News Association.

In Brookside, home to just 1,253 people north of Birmingham, AL.com revealed how police used proceeds from fines and forfeitures to increase revenue by 640 percent over two years. Those funds came to account for nearly half of the town’s income.

Two months after the initial reporting published, the state legislature passed a law restricting Alabama towns from using revenues from fines and fees to supply more than 10% of their budgets. Dozens of criminal cases from Brookside were thrown out in court.

“Local journalism is the core of American journalism, and we’re proud to be doing the work that changes lives, laws and minds here in Alabama,” said Kelly Ann Scott, executive editor and vice president of content at AL.com. “That’s why we do this work — the impact it has here. We’re honored to have that impact recognized.”

The work was supported by Ivana Hrynkiw, who led engagement efforts for AL.com, and former AL.com photographer Joe Songer, who took the photos.

The reporting on Brookside was part of a series, Banking on Crime, that examined policing for profit in Alabama. The series is a finalist in the multimedia category of the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards and was named a finalist for the Knight Award for Public Service from the Online News Association. The series was supported by a grant from Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights.

The National Headliner Awards were founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City and it is one of the oldest and largest contests recognizing outstanding work in journalism.

View the full list of honorees here.