After the murders of two area college students earlier this year, we knew we wanted to dig into the state's probation system. The two young men charged with murdering the college students had been convicted of other crimes and put on probation. But they had little or no contact with their probation officers. We've spent much of the last year looking at how North Carolina's probation system works -- or doesn't work.

Starting Sunday, we will publish "Losing Track: North Carolina's Crippled Probation System." After reading the series, you will be angry -- and scared. There are solutions; each day of the three-part series (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday) includes a story on possible solutions. For the last eight years, the probation system has been under the control of Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat. We'll see if Gov.-elect Bev Perdue, a Democrat who takes office in January, has the will to fix this problem.  

This kind of reporting is expensive. It's threatened by the financial problems of the newspaper industry. Read more about our commitment to investigative reporting in my Saturday column.