IACFP Blog

Chicago Can Learn About Crime Reduction from New York - NYTimes.com

2012-02-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Chicago Can Learn About Crime Reduction from New York - NYTimes.com

"Chicago gnashed its teeth as the New York Giants won the Super Bowl.

It should do the same over crime.

More notable than the Giants’ unforeseen playoff run is a stunning decline in crime in New York that shatters many assumptions about law enforcement and could serve as a road map for Chicago.

It explains why Franklin E. Zimring, a criminal justice expert at the University of California, Berkeley, will headline an A-list symposium hosted by the University of Chicago Crime Lab on Friday. His new book, “The City That Became Safe,” (Oxford University Press, 2012), is mostly about New York, but it should be required reading for policy makers and nervous citizens here.

“We thought the only way to reduce crime was to lock people up,” Mr. Zimring said. “In New York, incarceration went down and crimes went down.”

For the past century, ups and downs in crime have fit a pattern nationwide. In the early 1990s there was a sharp rise amid a crack cocaine epidemic, and New York and Chicago had strikingly similar crime rates.

The fluctuations gave birth to a powerful conventional wisdom that law-enforcement strategies couldn’t have much impact, noted Roseanna Ander, executive director of the crime lab.

Poverty, inequality, racism, drug use and gang wars were cited as root causes that couldn’t really be overcome by even the most vigilant beat officers. If there was a consensus, it was simple and macho: arrest more people and lock ’em up.

But New York is lapping Chicago and nearly every big city by any index one inspects. The homicide rate alone in New York is about one-third of Chicago’s. And New York’s incarceration rates have fallen rapidly even as robbery, burglary, auto theft, larceny, rape and assault rates have declined faster than elsewhere.

Mr. Zimring, a former University of Chicago law school professor, has exhaustively analyzed New York’s dramatic drop over the past 20 years. He scrutinized factors like economic inequality, children in single-parent homes, accessibility to guns, immigration patterns, you name it. He dissected patterns like heavy immigration by Asians, who have low crime rates, and New York’s persistently higher youth unemployment and poverty rates.

Nothing really seems to account for New York’s differences other than increases in police resources and strategies focused on serious crime, and not, according to Mr. Zimring, the often mythologized “quality of life,” or so-called “broken windows” strategies that concentrate on, say, public prostitution or gambling.

Thus, limiting drug violence by shutting open-air drug markets proved to be a far bigger and smartly executed priority than chasing hookers.

All that is relevant to Chicago since Garry F. McCarthy, the new police superintendent, is a product of the New York Police Department. Mr. McCarthy, who will join Mr. Zimring at the symposium on Friday, most recently led the police force in another crime-plagued city, Newark, and introduced New York’s now-famous Compstat system there. For sure, to read “The City That Became Safe” is to wonder if duplication here might bring salvation, even if the author himself is uncertain about some elements.

Mr. McCarthy has made Compstat, a process of data mapping and analysis, a crucial part of Chicago’s crime-fighting campaign.

In Compstat sessions, local commanders must go into granular detail about recent crimes and face tough but fair-minded questioning from bosses."

New pretrial program will screen defendants, offer 'risk score' to judges | NOLA.com

2012-02-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

New pretrial program will screen defendants, offer 'risk score' to judges | NOLA.com

"The process for determining who remains behind bars and who goes free after an arrest in New Orleans has remained largely unchanged through the years. There are a small number of defendants who are able to quickly secure their release -- sometimes on their own recognizance -- after an attorney contacts a judge.

But most defendants booked with state crimes, both major and minor, end up appearing before a judge or magistrate commissioner who evaluate the defendant's charges, rap sheet and other factors before setting a cash bond amount.

Those who can afford the bond are released, while those who can't remain in jail.

But starting this month, a new pretrial services program could change that process for good.

For the first time, a screener hired by the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice will offer judges an independent assessment of whether a defendant can be safely released back into the community pending trial.

The screener will meet with the defendant before the bond hearing, and will ask a series of questions about his or her employment status and living situation. That information, along with detailed information about the defendant's criminal history, will then be entered onto a form and scored to measure that person's risk to public safety. Screeners will also attempt to verify certain information by phone."

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Paul Butler | Washington Examiner

2012-02-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Paul Butler | Washington Examiner

"Butler is a law professor at George Washington University and former prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. He'll be giving a lecture on Monday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library downtown on the relationship between hip-hop and the criminal justice system, called "Let's Get Free: How Hip Hop Music Can Improve Our Justice System."

How do hip-hop and the criminal justice system relate?

Hip-hop contains an amazing description of how the criminal justice system doesn't work now and it contains first-rate recommendations for how we can all be safer and freer. So what I'm going to do in the presentation is use hip-hop video and music to show how if we listen to hip-hop we will have an improved justice system.

What has been the impact of hip-hop on American culture?

I think hip-hop has changed American pop culture. It's changed race relations. It's changed the music business and it's changed youth culture. So hip-hop is very influential. It's very interesting in part because it's mainly music created by young black men -- and young black men are the group most likely to be incarcerated and to drop out of high school. And financially they are among the worst off. So we have people who are on the one hand on the low end of well-being, but on the other hand they are creating this amazing product that is one of the most successful American cultural exports ever. Hip-hop is a phenomenon all over world."

Prison misconduct findings shed light on crowding problem

2012-02-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

Prison misconduct findings shed light on crowding problem

"UT Dallas criminologist Dr. Robert Morris and doctoral student Erin Orrick won the 2012 William Simon/Anderson Publishing Outstanding Paper award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for their article that shows offenders who return to prison on technical parole violations are far less likely to engage in prison misconduct.

The findings of the paper entitled, “Do Parole Technical Violations Pose a Public Safety Threat? An Analysis of Prison Misconduct,” could help decrease prison populations without putting a strain on public safety at a time when state and federal prisons are overcrowded and the operating costs of correctional facilities have soared.

“The idea behind the study was in response to the need for reductions in the prison population,” said Morris, a professor in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences. “We need to know which candidates for release pose a minimal threat to public safety.”

Other criminologists have recommended that one way to decrease prison populations is by not having some parole violators, also known as technical violators, return to prison. A technical violation is when an offender violates a condition of their parole. Examples of technical violations range from failure to report to a parole officer or missing a curfew.

Between 1980 and 2000, state prisons experienced a seven-fold increase in the number of people returning to prison based on a technical parole violations rather than a new criminal offense, according to the paper.

However, little research has been done about inmates’ behavior after their parole is revoked and they return to prison. Morris and Orrick carried out the first analysis of its kind to determine whether technical violators are a threat to public safety by examining their behavior while incarcerated.

“There is a pretty good argument to be made that people who are most well-behaved while incarcerated may be better candidates for abstaining from crime once they get out,” Morris said.

The two researchers examined more than 15,000 disciplinary records of male inmates incarcerated between May 1, 2004 and May 31, 2006 in a large Southern state. They looked at three different types of prison misconduct related to property, violence and drugs. And they compared these misconduct types between offenders returning to prison for a second time based on a new crime they committed and technical violations.

“What we found was for each category of misconduct, technical violators were far less likely to engage in misconduct compared to those returning to prison for a new offense,” Morris said.

Orrick, a doctoral student in criminology, said the research could aid policymakers who are looking for ways to decrease prison costs without having a huge impact on public safety."

Longer prison sentences do not cut crime, claims Justice Secretary Ken Clarke - mirror.co.uk

2012-02-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Longer prison sentences do not cut crime, claims Justice Secretary Ken Clarke - mirror.co.uk

"The veteran Tory Cabinet minister said that locking criminals up for longer risked fuelling crime as jails became overcrowded.

And Mr Clarke said that it was the media, not soft judges, who were undermining public confidence in the justice system.

The incendiary remarks came after Tory MP Nicola Blackwood told him that people wanted to see a more “effective deterrent”.

Speaking in the Commons, she said: “I think that the lack of confidence within the public is not just due to a thirst for punishment beyond reason.

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“There is also the fact that re-offending rates are high and the point about sentencing is you want to see that it is effective, and it is an effective deterrent against re-offending.”

Mr Clarke agreed that re-offending was the “biggest weakness of our system” but said that more attention was needed on the “reform of more offenders".

And he hinted at softer sentences, calling for a “more intelligent use of the prisons estate”.

Mr Clarke said: “Some people have held the belief, which is quite understandable, for years, that in order to cut re-offending you’ve got to deter people by sending more and more people to prison for longer and longer sentences.

“It is my personal opinion that the evidence completely refutes that - that does not work, particularly if it makes the prisons overcrowded, unresponsive places where they toughen up and meet some rougher friends and then are released to fend for themselves in the outside world.”

Senior Tory MP Edward Leigh pointed out that 37% of convicted burglar were spared jailed in 2009."

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2012/02/03/longer-prison-sentences-do-not-cut-crime-claims-justice-secretary-ken-clarke-115875-23733290/#ixzz1lKz6kjfg

Ombudsman urges far-reaching bill to boost rights of crime victims

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Ombudsman urges far-reaching bill to boost rights of crime victims

"OTTAWA — Canada's justice system is far too offender-centric and it's time to "shift the conversation" to ensure victims are treated more fairly, Canada's new ombudsman for victims of crime said in her first report to be released Thursday.

Noting victims have few legislated rights and entitlements compared to offenders, Sue O'Sullivan called for an "Omnibus Victims' Bill" to address the lack of access to offender information, meaningful participation at parole hearings and financial support for victims.

"Right now, the imbalance between the rights of offenders and the rights of victims are very stark in this country," she said in an interview the day before her report was to be made public.

"Despite all the good intentions, the conversations about victims have been focused for the most part on offender-related issues and we think it's time to tackle this head on."

While the Conservative government's tough-on-crime agenda, including Bill C-10, the so-called omnibus crime bill now under review in the Senate, contains some provisions for victims, O'Sullivan, who was named the ombudsman for victims of crime in Aug. 2010, said it's not enough.

"We need to go farther," said O'Sullivan, whose report contains some 20 recommendations aimed at rebalancing the justice system.

Victims, she said, should have access to a current photo of the offender in question at the time of their release from prison, as well as information about their incarceration and participation in any rehabilitation programs.

They should have an "automatic right" to attend parole hearings and should have the option to do so via video or teleconference. O'Sullivan argued victims also should be able to access recordings or transcripts of such proceedings.

Canada, she added, is far behind the United States when it comes to using technology to "enhance access to information for victims." The U.S. has developed a telephone and web portal that allows registered victims to access offender information after hours and O'Sullivan is urging the Canadian government to develop something similar.

She's also called for the federal victim surcharge convicts are required to pay, unless they could show proof of undue hardship, to be doubled and made mandatory. The fee is meant to support provincial and territorial victims' services but O'Sullivan said too many offenders are getting out of it."

Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Ombudsman+urges+reaching+bill+boost+rights+crime+victims/6090243/story.html#ixzz1lFdKTPMF

Police Integrity Lost: A Study of Law Enforcement Officers Arrested

2012-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Police Integrity Lost: A Study of Law Enforcement Officers Arrested

"Newswise — BOWLING GREEN, O.—A Bowling Green State University criminal justice team is developing the first national profile of police integrity through an analysis of police crime committed by sworn law enforcement officers. A National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant in excess of $260,000 will fund the work of criminal justice faculty members Dr. Philip Stinson, principal investigator for the project, and co-investigators Drs. John Liederbach and Steven Lab. NIJ is a branch of the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.

The focus of the 24-month research project is to study the arrest records of on- and off-duty law enforcement officers across the nation. It builds on previous studies by Stinson and Liederbach published in Police Quarterly, Criminal Justice Policy Review, and International Journal of Police Science and Management.

According to Stinson, the research is important because “there are no comprehensive statistics available on problems with police integrity, and no government entity collects data on criminal arrests of police officers in the U.S.”

“The lack of statistics on police crime should be troubling to police executives, researchers, policymakers and the general public,” Stinson added.

While the overall purpose of the project is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime and agency responses to officer arrests, there are several distinct goals established for the study.

Stinson and his colleagues expect to determine the nature and extent of police crime in the U.S.

“Police agencies cannot formulate effective policies to confront these problems until they know what types of crimes police are most likely to commit and the factors that seem to influence their commission,” Stinson said.

A second goal is to find out how law enforcement agencies discipline officers who are arrested and the considerations that contribute to those decisions. The team will determine benchmarks for comparisons of how organizations handle various types of offenses committed by police officers, including which they tend to sanction or ignore.

The research team will also seek to discover to what extent police crime arrests correlate with other forms of police misconduct. This information may help guide the development of strategies to better identify problem officers and those at risk for engaging in police misconduct and devise early intervention processes."

NY state saw fewest homicides since 1975 last year - WSJ.com

2012-01-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

NY state saw fewest homicides since 1975 last year - WSJ.com

"ALBANY, N.Y. — The number of homicides in New York dropped last year to the lowest level in decades to roughly 750, or about one-third of the killings in 1990, the deadliest year on record, officials said Monday.

Sean Byrne, the state's acting criminal justice commissioner, told a legislative committee that preliminary data show all crime, including violent crime, declined in 2011. That included a drop of more than 10 percent in homicides compared to 2010.

"Homicides will be at the lowest number reported since statewide crime reporting began 37 years ago," Byrne said. They peaked at 2,606 in 1990.

Byrne noted several factors, including better crime analysis and follow-up. He told lawmakers that one of the best methods of reducing recidivism is helping former offenders get jobs, and there is some proposed program funding for that next year.

Authorities also say the expanded database of offender DNA samples has helped cut crime. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed roughly doubling the program to include every felony or penal misdemeanor. People convicted of all penal felonies and three dozen misdemeanors now have to give samples of their genetic material from a simple saliva swab.

"No initiative has more potential to reduce violent crime than the proposal to expand the DNA databank," Byrne said, noting the database has had more than 10,000 hits since it began in 1996. "DNA also breathes new life into cases whose trail of evidence went cold decades ago. ... Just as important, countless suspects are routinely excluded from suspicion and 27 individuals have been exonerated in New York state through DNA evidence."

The state Senate passed similar legislation last year. The Assembly-passed version also had other provisions intended to help prevent wrongful convictions, like giving defense lawyers more access to DNA information.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told reporters Monday there is a consensus in his Democratic conference on expanding the database and seeing it used for clearing the wrongly accused. "Because every false arrest, especially in a sex crime case, somebody is running around the streets at large as a result of not being able to access the databank and find the appropriate criminal," he said."

Supreme Court Decision Limits Police GPS Tracking

2012-01-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Supreme Court Decision Limits Police GPS Tracking

"The US Supreme Court has ruled that law enforcement agents may not use GPS tracking devices to gather evidence on suspects under investigation, although the ruling still leaves many questions for criminal justice professionals.

The ruling is a response to a challenge filed in a lower-court case involving the tracking of Antoine Jones, a man previously convicted of drug trafficking. That conviction was overturned with the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling; however, the three-way split among justices in their reasoning leaves much to be considered in the application of the new precedent.

Some legal analysts and those who support more sweeping surveillance techniques argue the ruling is an announcement to the law enforcement community that electronic tracking of any kind without a warrant will be challenged and that the ruling severely limits the capability of police officers and federal agents to fight crime.

Privacy advocates and other legal scholars, however, argue the ruling is too narrow and may only be construed to apply to the act of trespassing when attaching a GPS device to a vehicle for tracking purposes. Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed these concerns in her portion of the opinion, noting that the ruling may not specifically apply to other instances of tracking that do not involve a physical invasion of privacy."

Criminal Justice May Get New Legislation Against Convicted Sex Offenders

2012-01-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

Criminal Justice May Get New Legislation Against Convicted Sex Offenders

"Personal lawyers for sexual predators, be aware, protection from sexual assault and abuse are the focus of Anchorage Representative Pete Petersen as he introduced his Child Protection Legislation. It is House Bill 278, “An Act allowing as a condition of probation for a defendant convicted of certain sex offenses a prohibition against the defendant’s residing at a residence where outdoor recreational equipment suitable for use by children under 16 years of age is located on the property.” Tuesday, January 17, 2012, it was read and then was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

This legislation will mainly focus on prohibiting sex offenders, especially convicted sex offenders on parole, from committing another sexual assault by disallowing them to reside “at a residence where outdoor recreational equipment suitable for use by children under 16 years of age is located on the property”.

“We need to make sure judges have the tools they need to keep Alaskan children safe,” said Rep. Petersen. “If a person has done this type of thing before, or if the judge has reason to believe a potential repeat-offender might use these toys to lure children into harm, then we need to give our justice system the power to stop them.”

Included in the Alaska Law is the power to allow judges the discretion to require convicted sex offenders out on parole to refrain from committing the following: communicating with children less than 16 years of age, possessing or using a computer as well as using or creating an internet site, and residing within 500 feet away from a school.

One valuable tool for keeping your distance from sex offenders is the State of Alaska Sex Offender/Child Kidnapper Registration Central Registry . The State of Alaska has nearly three-thousand names listed in the Alaska Central Registry for sex offenders, seventy-four of those are non-compliant with the law that says that they must keep their addresses up to date on the registry. In the last couple of months, Alaska State Troopers have arrested non-compliant offenders for just this little detail that the sex offenders have not kept up with."

Human trafficking a growing crime in the U.S. - USATODAY.com

2012-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Human trafficking a growing crime in the U.S. - USATODAY.com

"DETROIT — A University of Michigan janitor. A Ukrainian nightclub owner. A Detroit man nicknamed "Gruesome."

The three men, authorities say, are all tied to a growing crime: human trafficking.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking has become the second fastest growing criminal industry — just behind drug trafficking — with children accounting for roughly half of all victims. Of the 2,515 cases under investigation in the U.S. in 2010, more than 1,000 involved children.

And those are only the ones we know of. Too often, authorities say, victims stay silent out of fear, so no one knows they exist.

That's why President Obama declared January National Human Trafficking Awareness month.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center estimates it's a $32 billion industry, with half coming from industrialized countries.

Over the last decade, numerous human trafficking cases have been prosecuted in Michigan. The court dockets detail the horror stories: Children being sold for sex at truck stops, servants held in captivity and forced to clean for free, and women forced into the sex industry, forfeiting their earnings.

Several human trafficking cases are now making their way through state and U.S. District Court.

Jean Claude Toviave, a former University of Michigan janitor and part-time tennis instructor, is federally charged with trying to pass off four African immigrants as his own children, giving them fake names and birth dates to sneak them over in 2006. Documents accuse him of abusing them for years in his Ypsilanti home, which he got through Habitat for Humanity, and forcing them to do housework.

His so-called children told authorities they were deprived of food and beaten with broom handles, a plunger, electrical cords and an ice scraper when they didn't finish chores or homework. They detailed the years of abuse in journals, which police confiscated, and said Toviave threatened them if they tried to leave.

The "children" weren't a big secret. Prosecutors say he enrolled the three youngest — 21, 20 and 15 — in a public middle school.

The students reported the abuse to counselors, triggering an investigation.

Toviave, 42, was arrested in May and is behind bars on human trafficking and forced labor charges.

In state court, six defendants are facing human trafficking charges in two separate cases brought by Michigan's new human trafficking unit, formed in 2011 by state Attorney General Bill Schuette."

BBC News - Cost of prison prompts change in US states

2012-01-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

BBC News - Cost of prison prompts change in US states

"After a few minutes in Baton Rouge Parish prison you forget what the sky looks like.

Men lie on bunks, wait to make a call, watch daytime TV. Guantanamo-orange jumpsuits are everywhere.

You don't have to spend much time in the American criminal justice system to become overwhelmed by the waste, the futility and the failure.

Dennis Grimes is the warden at the prison. He has spent 27 years in these places.

"We are always at our capacity," Mr Grimes says. "Always. As soon as we let some of them out there's nearly always that many coming in."

Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate of any US state. One in 55 of its residents are behind bars.

'A party without women'

"It's just been a trend that's kept going," says Mr Grimes as he walks around his prison. "I think they just believe that if you put them in jail, put a criminal in jail, you don't have to worry about them no more."

Does it stop crime?

Continue reading the main story
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We see the children who don't have shoes on their feet - most of the time their father is locked up or dead”
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Lori Hart

Church administrator
"Doesn't seem like it," he laughs, a big dry chuckle going through his big frame. "Doesn't seem like, 'cause this thing is still rolling."

Just under half of those released from prison in the US will be back there within three years. And failure does not come cheap.

It costs $27,000 (£17,650) to hold one prisoner for a year. Last year, US states spent $50bn on incarceration.

Criminal justice professionals have a phrase that sums up the financial challenge: the "million dollar block" - a city neighbourhood where a million dollars a year is spent locking up people from a single block.

And then there is what might be called collateral damage from time spent in prison.

"Like a party without the women" is how Antoine, a former crack dealer, describes it.

The prisons he went to are rife with drugs and rich in criminal-learning experiences.

At 31 years old, he has spent the last 15 years of his life going through the revolving door of state and federal penitentiaries. He saw his two children, now six and 12, in between."

Bennett L. Gershman: Pardoning Criminals -- Appropriate Mercy or Perverting Justice?

2012-01-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Bennett L. Gershman: Pardoning Criminals -- Appropriate Mercy or Perverting Justice?

"Pontius Pilate would have been proud of Haley Barbour. Pilate, the Roman procurator over Judea at the time of Jesus, pardoned Barabbas, a murderer/insurrectionist against Pilate's own authority (as the Gospel of Mark tells us), the most famous pardon in the history of the world. Barbour, the outgoing procurator (actually, governor) of Mississippi pardoned 203 criminals, including 17 convicted murderers, one of whom shot his wife to death while she was holding her six-week old baby, and wounded her friend. Imagine: a dictator like Pilate, at festival time, using his totally arbitrary, unbridled power to free a prisoner who was actually an insurrectionist against him. Imagine Barbour pardoning a vicious and guilty murderer.

Given Barbour's somewhat bizarre record of pardons, the pardon power has become a topic of interest, although it has never been very far from inflaming public opinion and exciting controversy. President Richard Nixon pardoned teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa to gain support from his union; President Gerald Ford, ostensibly to "heal the nation's wounds," pardoned Richard Nixon before Nixon could be charged, let alone convicted of any crime; President William Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, but his most notorious pardon was of fugitive financier Marc Rich after application from the state of Israel because of Rich's supposedly charitable endeavors; President George W. Bush gave clemency to Vice President Dick Cheney's crony "Scooter" Libby; and New York Governor George Pataki granted a full pardon to only one man, the comedian Lenny Bruce (and, indeed, posthumously).

What is this "pardon power," and why does it incite controversy? The pardon power is engraved in the U.S. Constitution ("The President shall have the Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons") and according to the Framers, was intended to be a "benign prerogative" in the interests of "humanity and good policy." Alexander Hamilton long ago explained why the power is critical: criminal law, he said in one of the "Federalist" papers, "partakes so much of necessary severity," and that without "exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel." Chief Justice William Rehnquist called the pardon power a "fail safe" in a justice system that is fallible and convicts innocent people. But however benign and protective, the pardon power is the essence of arbitrary power - a power that can be used capriciously and without any basis to believe that the justice system has malfunctioned or that the person being given a pardon is innocent, and without any mitigating circumstances to warrant any official mercy. And there are no standards or guidelines to regulate a unilateral executive decision that is unconditional, final, and cannot be appealed.

This is not to suggest that the pardon power may not be a necessary "fail safe" for a system prone to errors, as Chief Justice Rehnquist observed. For example, Governor George Ryan of Illinois pardoned several men on Death Row who were convicted on the basis of confessions extracted through torture by the notorious Chicago homicide squad. Pardons have been given to persons serving draconian sentences for minor drug offenses. President Jimmy Carter pardoned hundreds of thousands of draft resisters after the Vietnam War. But in surveying how it is used, it is clear that the pardon power is not the corrective to injustice that the framers intended it to be. Despite mountains of evidence showing that innocent people get convicted -- often the data proves this to a certainty -- it is hard to find many cases where a person has been pardoned exclusively on the basis of innocence. Nor are there many instances where persons are pardoned who have been convicted of a crime many years ago and the government seeks to deport them."

Three Decades of Capital Punishment in Texas — Death Penalty | The Texas Tribune

2012-01-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

Three Decades of Capital Punishment in Texas — Death Penalty | The Texas Tribune

"Thirty-five years ago today, the state of Utah executed Gary Gilmore by firing squad and restarted the death penalty in the United States. Texas followed suit, reinstating capital punishment in 1982 and quickly becoming home to the nation's busiest execution chamber.

A 1972 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that the states' use of the death penalty was arbitrary and capricious led to a de facto moratorium on the penalty across the nation. States began changing their death penalty laws, and the pause on executions ended with a subsequent high court decision in 1976.

The first post-moratorium execution in Texas was in 1982. Charles Brooks Jr. was executed for the 1976 shooting death of a mechanic. Since 1982, Texas has executed 477 men and women, more than any other state. And there are more than 300 men and women in Texas awaiting execution now.

Executions in Texas — and nationwide — eventually peaked and then evened out in the 1990s. In 1994, there were 328 death sentences issued nationwide, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Starting in 1999, though, use of the death penalty began to drop off dramatically, and by 2009 there were 109 death sentences.

Last year, Texas executed 13 prisoners, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries assigned eight new death sentences in 2010 as well as in 2011, compared with 48 in 1999, according to the Texas Defender Service."

Judges get say on plea bargains - Boston.com

2012-01-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Judges get say on plea bargains - Boston.com

"The state’s highest court confirmed yesterday a little-known judicial power to ignore prosecutors and shorten criminal sentences in plea deals if the judge believes “justice may not have been done.’’

In a 6-to-1 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court decided to make it clear that judges are allowed to shorten sentences because of mitigating circumstances. The court also asserted that prosecutors cannot revoke a plea deal if a judge shortens the agreed-upon sentence.

Justice Francis X. Spina, the sole dissenter on the ruling, worried that it could open the door to judges using their power to act as pseudo-defense lawyers.

The statute on judicial powers of sentencing is hazy: A judge cannot “impose a sentence that exceeds the terms of the [plea bargain] recommendation,’’ but the law says nothing about whether a judge can shorten the sentence agreement.

Over the years, a few judges took the ambiguity of that statute to mean that reducing sentences was allowable, and two of those cases prompted the high court’s ruling yesterday that the practice is fair.

“The judge simply exercised a quintessential judicial power, the power to sentence, and ultimately concluded that the agreed recommendation was more severe than justice permitted,’’ wrote Justice Ralph D. Gants, who represented the majority.

Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett, whose office was prosecuting one of the men whose case was tackled by the SJC, argued that the ruling will dramatically change the criminal justice landscape.

“It will definitely change the way we do business in the district courts in the future,’’ Blodgett said. “I think it is going to be problematic.’’

In a statement yesterday, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said he thinks the decision will have a damaging effect on the criminal justice system."

The Bay Area Reporter Online | Justice Department revises rape definition

2012-01-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

The Bay Area Reporter Online | Justice Department revises rape definition

"Men can now be victims of rape in the eye of the law. In a landmark decision that advocates say has been long overdue, the FBI has changed its definition of rape to include males.

The change was announced by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Friday, January 6.

Holder announced revisions to the Uniform Crime Report's definition of rape, which will lead to a more comprehensive statistical reporting of rape nationwide. The new definition is more inclusive, better reflects state criminal codes, and focuses on the various forms of sexual penetration understood to be rape.

"These long overdue updates ... will help ensure justice for those whose lives have been devastated by sexual violence and reflect the Department of Justice's commitment to standing with rape victims," Holder said in a statement.

The new definition of rape is: "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

The definition is used by the FBI to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about reported rapes.

"Rape is a devastating crime and we can't solve it unless we know the full extent of it," Vice President Joe Biden, a leader in the effort to end violence against women for over 20 years, said in the release issued by the Justice Department. Biden was the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act when he was in the Senate. "This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years."

Additionally, the revision addresses the issue of consent for the first time, since drug and alcohol intoxication are often present at the scene of reported crimes.

Another important change: the removal of the word "forcibly" from the bureau's definition, which had been in place since 1927.

The revised definition includes any gender of victim or perpetrator, and includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity, including due to the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age. The ability of the victim to give consent must be determined in accordance with state statute. Physical resistance from the victim is not required to demonstrate lack of consent. The new definition does not change federal or state criminal codes or impact charging and prosecution on the local level."

New push to expand DNA samples from NY offenders - WSJ.com

2012-01-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

New push to expand DNA samples from NY offenders - WSJ.com

"ALBANY, N.Y. — The addition of petit larceny to a list of crimes requiring DNA samples from convicted offenders has helped solve 51 murders, 222 sexual assaults, 117 robberies and 407 burglaries over the past five and a half years, New York authorities say.

Now the Cuomo administration wants to expand the statewide DNA databank to include all misdemeanor convictions under the penal code, plus all felony convictions under other statutes such as traffic and business laws. That would mean DNA samples for DWI convictions and securities fraud, for example.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called last week for putting New York "on the cutting edge of criminal justice" by becoming the first state to collect DNA on all crimes under the state's penal laws, noting that since 1996 the database provided leads to 2,700 convictions while helping free 27 people who were wrongly accused.

"We are missing an important opportunity to prevent needless suffering of crime victims," the governor said. "We are also failing to use the most powerful tool we have to exonerate the innocent."

The databank currently has genetic profiles from more than 386,000 criminals convicted of penal law felonies and 36 misdemeanors, plus samples from nearly 38,000 crime scenes. It links to the FBI's national system with more than 10 million offender profiles and some 400,000 samples of crime scene material.

Legislation to expand the databank passed both houses of the Legislature last year, but died when lawmakers failed to reconcile the differences.

The Assembly bill had added provisions that would have required better access to DNA evidence for defense lawyers; prohibited other DNA identification indexes; increased the penalty for tampering or misusing DNA samples; and required police to get written consent before collecting a voluntary sample from someone for an investigation.

"Last year, when the bills crossed, we didn't have the governor's attention because of other matters like the $10 billion deficit," said Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, the bill's sponsor. "I hope that this year we will have the governor's attention and help in passing the bill. But I'd like to see it done the right way."

The Brooklyn Democrat is the Codes Committee chairman. He said, "There's very little in any DNA legislation to protect the innocent substantively because people wrongly convicted don't have equal access to the DNA like the prosecution does."

He said the bill would protect the public. "If somebody is wrongfully convicted, you don't have the real perpetrator, the real person behind bars," he said.

The database began in 1996 with the genetic material from convicted killers and sex predators. It has been expanded three times, in 2006 adding all remaining penal law felonies and three dozen misdemeanors."

DeLeo: House will broaden scope of anti-crime bill - Lincoln, MA - Lincoln Journal

2012-01-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

DeLeo: House will broaden scope of anti-crime bill - Lincoln, MA - Lincoln Journal

"Boston — Hoping to break a stalemate with the Senate on a criminal justice package intended to eliminate parole for repeat violent offenders, House Speaker Robert DeLeo indicated Monday he intends to put before the House a slew of crime policies acted on in the Senate but left untouched by the House prior to the winter recess.

“Hopefully, we can get the other portions done and send them all into a conference,” DeLeo told the News Service on Monday.

The proposals range from changes in drug weights and a crackdown on gun possession by convicted felons to the judicial option to include pets in restraining orders and a plan to shrink the size of schools zones within which drug offenders receive stiff mandatory minimum sentences.

The Senate unanimously supported these proposals and others during a November debate. Days later, the House passed a bill to eliminate parole for third-time violent felons, leaving the other issues unaddressed.

House leaders argued members needed more time to review the provisions of the plan adopted by the Senate. The competing bills were sent to a six-member conference committee intended to iron out differences between the bills, but Senate President Therese Murray has suggested the Senate would be unwilling to accept a three-strikes rule without accompanying reforms.

DeLeo said the remaining pieces of the crime package, along with a bill reforming oversight of education collaboratives and Murray’s financial reform bill filed last session, were likely the top priorities for the House early in the 2012 session.

He said he expected the House to hold a formal session Wednesday, Jan. 18 though he did not indicate what might appear on the agenda.

“Bottom line, I think for us to get a real comprehensive piece relative to sentencing reform we have to do that. If we didn’t get the bill so late last time, it would have been a whole lot easier to do it that way, but we just didn’t have the time to do the whole bill,” DeLeo said.

The conference committee – chaired by Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, D-Chelsea, and Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, – has largely remained at odds, with the House insisting its members are not prepared to weigh in on the Senate’s more comprehensive bill and the Senate refusing to back down from its omnibus proposal.

But DeLeo’s stance, and his plans to take action on the proposals, indicates a solution could be nearing."

Read more: DeLeo: House will broaden scope of anti-crime bill - Lincoln, MA - Lincoln Journal http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/news/x449147815/DeLeo-House-will-broaden-scope-of-anti-crime-bill#ixzz1j4qQz99Y

Bill would keep kids out of criminal justice system | Bluegrass Moms | Kentucky.com

2012-01-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

Bill would keep kids out of criminal justice system | Bluegrass Moms | Kentucky.com

"Should 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds face criminal charges?

In 2009 and 2010, complaints were filed against at least 748 Kentucky children younger than 11 for offenses that included being out of control, minor injury assaults and criminal mischief. Sixty-three of those children were ages 5, 6, and 7, according to a 2011 Herald-Leader analysis of state records. Eight of those children were 5 years old.

State Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, last week introduced House Bill 143, which would prohibit children 10 or younger from being charged with criminal offenses. Instead, those children could be found neglected or dependent on the state for services.

Juvenile justice and court officials recently told Owens and other Kentucky lawmakers on an interim judiciary committee that children 10 and younger can't comprehend criminal responsibility and would be better served by the social service system. Owens said HB 143 ensures that the behavior is still dealt with.

Kentucky now puts no limits on the age at which a child may be charged. The bill sets that age at 11.

Kentucky would be following at least 11 other states in having laws that don't allow children 10 or younger to be charged criminally.

Owens said in an interview that he has talked to attorneys who told him many children are found incompetent to face criminal charges.

"Their mind just hasn't developed to the point to where they understand what they are doing," Owens said.

Patrick Yewell, executive officer of family and juvenile services for the Administrative Office of the Courts, or AOC, said Thursday that if HB 143 were to become law, the AOC would work closely with the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

"We could place the children on diversion," Yewell said, "and, if the child failed the diversion, we could then send the child and his/her family to" the cabinet "as a family in need of services."

Officials in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services won't discuss their position on the legislation."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/01/09/2021386/bill-would-keep-kids-out-of-criminal.html#storylink=cpy

Incarcerated parents need contact with their children, Oklahoma legislative panel says | NewsOK.com

2012-01-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Incarcerated parents need contact with their children, Oklahoma legislative panel says | NewsOK.com

"Community-based sentencing programs should be increased and relations between state inmates and their children should be encouraged, according to findings released Wednesday by a legislative task force that looked at the issue of children of incarcerated parents.

On any given day, more than 26,000 Oklahoma children have a parent in a state prison, according to the report. That does not include children with parents jailed in county and city jails and federal correctional facilities.

“It is important for us to understand how many children are hurt by having a parent in prison so we can take action to slow the parade of children who would follow their parents' footsteps into prison,” said former Creek County Associate District Judge April Sellers White, who served as chairman of the task force.

A new survey, conducted as part of the 21-member task force's work, surveyed male and female offenders and found that nearly 3 percent of Oklahoma children have a parent in the state prison system. Child advocates and experts report that children of incarcerated parents run a higher risk of going to prison.

About 80 percent of the 26,106 children, or 21,482, have a father in state prison, according to the task force's survey. It found 4,624 had a mother in state prison.

“These are the forgotten victims of crime,” said the Rev. Stan Basler, a task force member who is director of criminal justice and mercy ministries of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. “It's not their fault.”

Oklahoma leads the nation in the rate of incarcerating females and is fifth in the rate of men sent to prison, according to U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics.

“It has been our hope to work together in a way to help focus the attention of the good people of this state of Oklahoma on the children who are paying a price when parents are incarcerated and the children did nothing that they should pay for,” White said. “It has not been the position of our group that people should not be punished for their crimes. But the question for us was: What's happening with the children?”

Sheila Harbert, chief community outreach officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma in Tulsa and a task force member, said her agency has taken children to several prisons to be with their mothers.

“I cannot express how powerful this need is in Oklahoma,” Harbert said. “There are thousands upon thousands of children and they need to see their moms. They've committed no crimes and it is so important that we provide programs on site at these facilities.”

Oklahoma's overall incarceration rate ranks third among the 50 states. Of the state's $6.5 billion in state appropriations this year, nearly $460 million was spent on the state Corrections Department.

The task force's recommendations include supporting interaction between an incarcerated parent and their minor child when it's in the child's best interest, expanding the use of community-based sentencing and providing information to incarcerated noncustodial parents on how they can responsibly address financial obligations to their children while in state custody.

Read more: http://newsok.com/incarcerated-parents-need-contact-with-their-children-oklahoma-legislative-panel-says/article/3637535#ixzz1ibNFukG9

Murder victims, suspects share familiar traits - baltimoresun.com

2012-01-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Murder victims, suspects share familiar traits - baltimoresun.com

"As the number of killings in Baltimore dipped last year to its lowest level in decades, one trend remained constant: Those accused of killing and their victims had been in and out of the criminal justice system.

More than 90 percent of the 71 people arrested on murder charges and 80 percent of the 196 people who were slain last year had criminal records, according to Baltimore police statistics released Monday. More than half the suspects had previous gun arrests, and four in 10 were on parole or probation.

"It is further evidence that violence sticks to violence," said city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, noting that the trend has been steady for years. "The vast number of cases that we deal with are bad guys versus bad guys. What we have to do is put those people behind bars."

These numbers helped compose a portrait of violence on city streets in 2011, which according to police showed double-percentage point drops in several categories.

Many of last year's statistics remained virtually unchanged from years past. The overwhelming number of victims, 183, were black, as were the suspects, 66. More than half the victims were between the ages 18 and 29, and 181 were male. Handguns continued to be the choice of murder weapon, in 149 killings.

Most people, 112, were killed on public streets. Police didn't uncover a motive in 156 homicides, though they said most involved drugs or people connected to the drug business. Twelve people were killed in robberies, 11 during arguments and six in domestic disputes.

The number of juveniles killed went up from 12 in 2010 to 14 last year, but was significantly lower than the 27 slain in 2007. Overall, Baltimore saw the fewest number of killings since 1977. The number of people fatally stabbed jumped 16 percent from 2010, with 32 last year.

Finishing with fewer than 200 killings was a symbolic threshold for city leaders, who last reached a similar milestone — under 300 — in 2000. Overall, police say violent crime in the city was down 6 percent, gun-related killings were down 13 percent and nonfatal shootings were down 9 percent. Property crime, including burglaries, rose 4 percent."

Justice And A Safe Haven For Chicago's Court Case Dogs - Forbes

2012-01-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Justice And A Safe Haven For Chicago's Court Case Dogs - Forbes

"As a new year opens and another closes, we look back on a period of new beginnings for more than a hundred Chicago dogs who landed squarely in the middle of the criminal court system.

Those 142 canines are lucky; they’ve benefited from the first-ever Court Case Dog Program, which was formed because of an abuse case.

The innovative enterprise was founded not long after a dog named Chula and 36 others arrived at Chicago Animal Care and Control, where volunteers with Project Safe Humane happened to be that day. As a result, most were soon placed in rescue.

The rescued canines — ranging in age from puppies to adults — became the inspiration for the Court Case Dog Program and the impetus for the current partnership between Chicago Animal Care and Control and Best Friends’ Project Safe Humane, which is run by national director Cynthia Bathurst.

The landmark case was the largest dog-fighting seizure in the history of the State of Illinois.

Chula, her face scarred and teeth filed down to stubs so she wouldn’t bite other dogs while she was used as a breeder and a bait dog, was saved from that life. Through the group P.A.W.S. of Tinley Park, Chula went to Pawsitively Heaven Pet Resort in Chicago Ridge, where she lives today.

As for Kevin Taylor, the abuser of the 37 dogs, a Cook County judge last November threw the book at him, finding him guilty of 62 felony counts relating to dog fighting and animal cruelty.

On December 14, more than four years after the raid, Taylor stood before Judge Brian Flaherty for his sentencing of the maximum three years for crimes against the dogs, plus a year of supervision after his release.

Taylor is serving out his sentence inside the walls of the maximum-security Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, where inmates are given industry jobs making soap and furniture."

DUI checkpoints Indiana: DUI checkpoints to increase during New Year's weekend - fox59.com

2011-12-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

DUI checkpoints Indiana: DUI checkpoints to increase during New Year's weekend - fox59.com

"Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership and the Indiana DUI Task Force will patrol the streets this New Year’s weekend, keeping an eye out for drunk drivers.

Members from Indiana’s 35 DUI Task Forces will conduct sobriety checkpoints and DUI roving patrols across the state through New Year’s Day.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s Traffic Safety Division said a total of 135 people have died in Indiana as a result of an impaired driver in 2010. Additionally, the institute stated there were 50 alcohol-related collisions in Indiana during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.

“Impaired driving is a serious and deadly crime,” said Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) Traffic Safety Division Director, Ryan Klitzsch, in a press release “It’s also 100 percent preventable.”

According to the institute’s research, nearly 25 percent of Indiana’s fatal collisions in 2010 were alcohol-related."

City sees drop in murder rate, but not in South Side’s Englewood - Chicago Sun-Times

2011-12-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

City sees drop in murder rate, but not in South Side’s Englewood - Chicago Sun-Times

"If you look at Englewood, you might think violence is spiraling out of control in Chicago.

Week after week, the South Side neighborhood has been ground zero for harrowing crimes like Tuesday’s mass shooting at a fast-food restaurant that left two dead and five wounded. This year, 56 people were killed in Englewood through Tuesday — a 40 percent increase over the same period in 2010.

Citywide, though, murder was down more than 2 percent this year, and overall crime dropped 8 percent.

“If you live in a very dangerous neighborhood, you’re still seeing a lot of crime,” said Arthur Lurigio, a criminal justice professor and associate dean at Loyola University. “But the truth is that we’re safer now than we were 40 years ago.”

Chicago’s crime rates are at their lowest in decades. There were more than 800 murders in Chicago in 1970, compared to 419 this year through Tuesday and 437 through all of 2010.

Other big cities like New York and Los Angeles have seen even more dramatic reductions in crime. New York’s murder rate is a third of Chicago’s, and Los Angeles’ murder rate is about half of ours.

“The goal is zero,” police Supt. Garry McCarthy said. “When I stop hearing about kids getting killed, when I stop hearing about kids getting shot, then maybe I’ll be satisfied.”

McCarthy said he is not happy with this year’s murder totals but believes the department is responding to new strategies he put into place since he took office in May.

Of nine categories of major crimes, the only ones to increase this year were aggravated sexual assault and motor vehicle theft, McCarthy said. They both rose slightly, he said.

“We brought a new playbook,” he said. “It takes some time.”

Over the past seven months, McCarthy has carried out Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s campaign promise to shift about 1,000 officers to the patrol division. They were moved to the city’s 25 districts from desk jobs and citywide crime-fighting units that McCarthy has disbanded.

The Fraternal Order of Police called the redeployment a “shell game,” saying the city should hire more officers instead of shifting them from one unit to another.

McCarthy said a key to his crime-fighting philosophy is giving district commanders more autonomy. They are held accountable through a process called CompStat, which was started in New York in the 1990s.

Under CompStat, the department provides commanders with a regular stream of crime statistics and expects them to adjust their strategies accordingly. They must explain their decisions to McCarthy and other police brass at weekly CompStat meetings."

Wrongful jailings prompt L.A. County sheriff to create task force - latimes.com

2011-12-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

Wrongful jailings prompt L.A. County sheriff to create task force - latimes.com

"Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Tuesday that he will create a task force to minimize the wrongful jailings of people mistaken for someone else.

Baca's move came in response to a Times investigation that found hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized their true identities.

"It's a horrible reality of what is basically the imperfect nature of the criminal justice system," Baca said in an interview. "No one who is an innocent person should ever be tied in with the criminal justice system....There's a difference between saying 'I plead not guilty.' It's another thing to say to anybody 'I'm not that person.'"

Baca said his task force to minimize the problem will probably be headed up by his detectives chief, a patrol commander and a jail captain.

The wrongful incarcerations occurred more than 1,480 times in the last five years. Many of those mistakenly held inside the county's lockups had the same names as suspects or had their identities stolen.

L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas called the jailings "a travesty of justice" and another blow to the sheriff's jails, which are under federal investigation over allegations of inmate abuse and other deputy misconduct.

This "further erodes confidence in the County jail system — just as we are struggling to restore public confidence," he said in a statement. "It's not enough to say that accidents happen."

The Times found that the jailings occur because of breakdowns not just by jail officials but by police who arrest the wrong people and by the courts, which have issued warrants that did not precisely identify the right suspects.

Because multiple jurisdictions are involved, Baca said his task force would present its recommendations to other local police agencies, with the hope that they too would adopt the reforms."

Ken Clarke: We'll end compensation for injured criminals | Mail Online

2011-12-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

Ken Clarke: We'll end compensation for injured criminals | Mail Online

"Convicted criminals will be banned from claiming compensation for their injuries under plans to be unveiled next month.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke will announce plans to ensure the money goes to victims of crime rather than criminals.

Every year criminals claim around £5million from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

It has given rise to controversial claims in which burglars have demanded money for injuries sustained when escaping the scene of the crime.

Thousands is also paid out every year to criminals who sustain injuries in prison as a result of feuds and drug-fuelled violence.

Soham murderer Ian Huntley is trying to claim £15,000 from CICA as a result of injuries sustained in prison from having his throat slit – in addition to a much higher sum in civil damages.

In total, 340 inmates made successful claims for injuries resulting in payouts and costs of £3.1million last year. More than 3,000 prisoners made claims.

Official figures show that three prisoners got payouts of more than £100,000 while one inmate received £500,000.

Another £2million was claimed by convicted criminals who are not jailed.

Most of the payouts for jailbirds are for injuries caused by trips, falls or slips as well as accidents while playing sport.

Ministers decided to step in because the Criminal Injuries Fund is chronically short of cash."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078854/Ken-Clarke-Well-end-compensation-injured-criminals.html#ixzz1hl1fvzh7

Gone Without a Case: Suspicious Elder Deaths Rarely Investigated - ProPublica

2011-12-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

Gone Without a Case: Suspicious Elder Deaths Rarely Investigated - ProPublica

"Nothing, it seemed, was unusual about Joseph Shepter's death.

A retired U.S. government scientist, Shepter spent his final two years dwelling in a nursing home in Mountain Mesa, Calif., a small town northeast of Bakersfield. A stroke had paralyzed much of his body, while dementia had eroded his ability to communicate.

He died in January 2007 at age 76. On Shepter's death certificate, Dr. Hoshang Pormir, the nursing home's chief medical officer, explained that the cause was heart failure brought on by clogged arteries.

Shepter's family had no reason to doubt it. The local coroner never looked into the death. Shepter's body was interred in a local cemetery.

But a tip from a nursing-home staffer would later prompt state officials to re-examine the case and reach a very different conclusion.

When investigators reviewed Shepter's medical records, they determined that he had actually died of a combination of ailments often related to poor care, including an infected ulcer, pneumonia, dehydration and sepsis.

Investigators also concluded that Shepter's demise was hastened by the inappropriate administration of powerful antipsychotic drugs, which can have potentially lethal side effects for seniors.

Prosecutors in 2009 charged Pormir and two former colleagues with killing Shepter and two other elderly residents. They've pleaded not guilty. The criminal case is ongoing.

Health-care regulators have already taken action, severely restricting the doctor's medical license. The federal government has fined the home nearly $150,000.

Shepter's story illustrates a problem that extends far beyond a single California nursing home. ProPublica and PBS "Frontline" have identified more than three-dozen cases in which the alleged neglect, abuse or even murder of seniors eluded authorities. But for the intervention of whistleblowers, concerned relatives and others, the truth about these deaths might never have come to light.

For more than a year, ProPublica, in concert with other news organizations, has scrutinized the nation's coroner and medical examiner offices [1], which are responsible for probing sudden and unusual fatalities. We found that these agencies -- hampered by chronic underfunding, a shortage of trained doctors and a lack of national standards -- have sometimes helped to send innocent people to prison and allowed killers to walk free.

When it comes to the elderly, the system errs by omission. If a senior like Shepter dies under suspicious circumstances, there's no guarantee anyone will ever investigate. Catherine Hawes, a Texas A&M health-policy researcher who has studied elder abuse for the U.S. Department of Justice, described the issue as "a hidden national scandal."

Because of gaps in government data, it's impossible to say how many suspicious cases have been written off as natural fatalities. However, the limited evidence available points to a significant problem: When investigators in one jurisdiction comprehensively reviewed deaths of older people, they discovered scores of cases in which elders suffered mistreatment.

An array of systemic flaws has led to case after case being overlooked:

When treating physicians report that a death is natural, coroners and medical examiners almost never investigate. But doctors often get it wrong. In one 2008 study, nearly half the doctors surveyed failed to identify the correct cause of death for an elderly patient with a brain injury caused by a fall.

In most states, doctors can fill out a death certificate without ever seeing the body. That explains how a Pennsylvania physician said her 83-year-old patient had died of natural causes when, in fact, he'd been beaten to death by an aide. The doctor never saw the 16-inch bruise that covered the man's left side.

Autopsies of seniors have become increasingly rare even as the population age 65 or older has grown. Between 1972 and 2007, a government analysis [2] found, the share of U.S. autopsies performed on seniors dropped from 37 percent to 17 percent."

Abuse victims: Overhaul justice system | Irish Examiner

2011-12-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Abuse victims: Overhaul justice system | Irish Examiner

"THE Irish criminal justice system is "not fit for purpose" when it comes to dealing with sexual crimes, an abuse survivors group has claimed.

Speaking after the publication of a previously redacted chapter of the Cloyne report, One in Four executive director Maeve Lewis said it was time to examine the failure of the state to allow victims of sexual crime access to effective remedy.

Chapter 9 of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation focused on Fr Ronat, a guidance counsellor and priest against whom 11 complaints of child abuse were made regarding sexual abuse, rape and anal rape.

Removed from ministry in 2005 and put before a canonical tribunal in 2009, he has not been convicted by a court of law.

Ms Lewis said last night: "It is perhaps time that we now admit that the criminal justice system is not fit for purpose in sexual crimes as it consistently fails victims.

"While the right to a fair trial must remain a cornerstone of Irish law, the low reporting rates, high attrition rates and the re-traumatisation of the very small numbers of victims whose cases go to trial have to be addressed."

Ms Lewis said publication of the redacted chapter again highlights the "catastrophe" which was allowed to take place in the diocese over a period of decades.

"Instead, ‘Fr Ronat’ was protected and supported over many years, allowed to retain his good name and clerical status while continuing to pose a risk to children," she said.

One of the victims, known as Fenella in the report, said: "I’m not giving up on getting justice", while another, known as Donella in the report, said this is "far from over".

"This report shows how the victim was of no interest to the diocese . . . And even today I just get so angry at the thought that that evil man walked out of court a free man," she said.

The Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Cloyne, Archbishop Dermot Clifford, said he accepted the report’s findings into how the diocese managed the Fr Ronat case."

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/abuse-victims-overhaul-justice-system-177774.html#ixzz1h5oHMSNy

California Creates Justice Unit for E-Crimes

2011-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

California Creates Justice Unit for E-Crimes

"The California Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it has created a new unit of attorneys and investigators that will work on crimes that involve the use of technology.

The department’s eCrime Unit will work across jurisdictional lines to investigate and prosecute cybercrime, identity theft, computer theft, online child pornography, intellectual property theft, and other similar crimes.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the formation of the eCrime Unit at a press conference in Santa Clara County, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 13. It’s known in the department as the “eCU.”

“So far, what I can tell you is that what we have addressed are crimes that perhaps would have gone without consequence because, frankly, the jurisdiction just wasn’t clear,” Harris said. “Maybe it was because the incident occurred in a cloud, and who has jurisdiction over that cloud? Or sometimes there was ambiguity about who would take it on because the victims were in many different jurisdictions.”

The unit has a broad mandate to work across jurisdictional lines, she said. Two of the state’s biggest industries — technology and entertainment — are directly impacted by piracy and intellectual property theft. That message has been echoed by lawmakers.

"Every year, California loses millions of dollars because the intellectual capital of our state is being hijacked by criminal elements," said Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, in a California DOJ news release. "The addition of the eCrime Unit to California's fight against technology crimes sends a clear message that we are determined to root out this type of illegal activity."

The eCrime Unit’s 20 attorneys and investigators began their work in August, according to the state DOJ.

Changes suggested for Mo. probation and parole system; allow rewards and quick sanctions | The Republic

2011-12-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

Changes suggested for Mo. probation and parole system; allow rewards and quick sanctions | The Republic

"JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri House committee Wednesday examined possible changes to the state's probation and parole system that could save the state millions and reduce the prison population by hundreds of inmates.

A special state task force recommended the changes, and the House committee has been meeting to study the criminal justice system before lawmakers return to the Capital in January.

The recommendations could save $7.7 million to $16.6 million over five years while reducing the prison population by 245 to 677 inmates. Missouri was incarcerating 30,777 people at the end of November, and the Legislature this year included more than $600 million in the total budget for the Department of Corrections. Some of the money that is saved could be plugged back into the criminal justice system.

The possible changes came from the Missouri Working Group on Sentencing and Corrections, which included officials from the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The working group said in its report that the recommendations are intended to improve public safety, hold offenders accountable and control costs.

State Supreme Court Judge William Ray Price, who served on the working group and presented its recommendations to the House committee Wednesday, said Missouri's current approach is expensive and ineffective. He said some, but not all, inmates belong in prison.

"We are trying to achieve better results for the safety of the Missouri people at a lower expense," Price said. "It's not a question about being soft on crime or hard on crime. It's a question of being smart on crime to get the best results for our people at the lowest expense."

Price was named to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1992 by then-Gov. John Ashcroft, a Republican. During his turn as chief justice over the past two years, Price highlighted the criminal justice system in speeches to a joint Legislature."

BOCC Looks at Criminal Justice System in Work Session - The Bradenton Times - Free News for Bradenton, FL and Manatee County

2011-12-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

BOCC Looks at Criminal Justice System in Work Session - The Bradenton Times - Free News for Bradenton, FL and Manatee County

"BRADENTON -- Four months ago Manatee County constructed an agreement with Sarasota County to assign their Criminal Justice Policy Coordinator, Wayne Applebee, to join, Walt Smith (Administrator 12th Judicial Circuit) in order to develop a criminal justice policy model and coordinate recommended changes. The BOCC were brought up to speed at Tuesday's work session.

-- To set the stage for what Smith and Applebee have evaluated to date, Smith familiarized the commissioners and others with a verbal walk through on diversion vs incarceration procedures. He identified all options to one when arrested for a misdemeanor or felony, evaluating each steps from bonding to re-entry and spoke of the heavy case loads public defenders carry, as well as the overloaded court dockets. Smith said that even though there is an extremely high rate of plea bargains, some cases just get pushed through, adding, "we realize people's rights to have an attorney, but we have to move on." He said conviction rates of felonies are running in the high 90 percentile.

-- Next up was Applebee's presentation, and the first recommendations on his list were to have the BOCC propose the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC), define their purpose for existence, review their members, limit them to statutory responsibility and establish their mission. Applebee suggested the BOCC should request recommendations of the PSCC prior to making votes related to funding or policy decisions that may affect public safety or the criminal justice system and update the 1992 Resolution creating the PSCC.

The suggestions call for PSCC System Intercept Mapping that locates the gaps and deficiencies in the criminal justice system and establish priorities based on those findings, then adjust funding recommendations accordingly. Applebee also advised board members that the PSCC publish a list of annual criminal justice priorities to fund, prior to the notice of funding announcements and supply an annual report to the BOCC as to their needs.

Applebee told the commissioners that the PSCC should seek to involve broad input from other communities. He suggested the BOCC look for regional and bi-county solutions, where more opportunity might be available at reasonable savings and to indulge educational/vocational systems, faith-based systems and healthcare systems to regularly interact with the criminal justice system.

Key points to a successful model are: to continue with the implementation of the recommendations from the 2008 Carter Goble Study, commit to pretrial services programs, conduct a cost and service benefit analysis for misdemeanor probation and look into joint county collaborations, for both adult and juvenile facilities. Both Smith and Applebee will finish their advisory roles and submit their final report in a couple of weeks, and it will include specific reporting recommendations."

Illinois' juvenile justice system is failing, state report says - chicagotribune.com

2011-12-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

Illinois' juvenile justice system is failing, state report says - chicagotribune.com

"Illinois' juvenile justice system is failing to rehabilitate offenders and help them return to life in their communities, according to a state commission's study to be released Tuesday.

More than half of the people released from state Department of Juvenile Justice facilities are later incarcerated again in the juvenile system, according to the study by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.

OCPublicAuction.comThe report also says the state's juvenile justice system "is, in many ways, the 'feeder system' to the adult criminal justice system and a cycle of crime, victimization and incarceration."

The commission was ordered by law to develop recommendations to help youth offenders successfully transition back into their communities. The commission's members found a system that is in desperate need of an overhaul, said its chairman, Judge George W. Timberlake, retired chief judge of the 2nd Judicial Circuit.

"We actually saw a system that doesn't work so well, if we gauge the worth of the system in increasing public safety, doing so at the least possible cost and improving the outcomes of kids who otherwise might be part of future criminal activity," Timberlake said in a phone interview Monday."

BBC News - Chief constable backs 'restorative justice' for youths

2011-12-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

BBC News - Chief constable backs 'restorative justice' for youths

"Youths who commit a "minor offence" should not be criminalised, Cambridgeshire's chief constable has said.

Simon Parr said he was encouraging officers to consider "restorative justice" instead of prosecutions.

More than 1,000 offenders in Cambridgeshire have been dealt with using the system since April, with 51.9% of cases involving youths.

The scheme allows victims to help decide punishments for low-level crime.

Mr Parr said: "Arrests are just one of the options available to officers when dealing with a child suspected of a crime and it is not always the most appropriate option.

"I certainly do not want to see children who have committed a minor offence criminalised for their actions."

Police said restorative justice had saved 8,000 policing hours and solved an extra 2.4% of crimes in the county since April.

Victim approval
In one case, a youth who caused £100 of damage to a sports pavilion avoided a criminal conviction by apologising and picking up litter.

An adult who stole £58 of stock from a shop in another case apologised, paid for the items and swept a car park.

Mr Parr said: "Officers in Cambridgeshire are being encouraged to use their professional judgment and look at all the options available to resolve a criminal investigation involving a minor offence, especially when dealing with children.

"Restorative justice provides an alternative to the traditional process of arrest and punishment. That said, the needs of victims remain a priority and are always considered.

"It cannot be used to deal with serious crimes or for repeat offenders and can only be used where a person has admitted their guilt, shown remorse and is willing to apologise and make amends."

Police said research showed people were less likely to reoffend if they were kept out of the criminal justice system."

Transgender and disabled murders to incur far harsher hate-crime penalty | UK news | The Guardian

2011-12-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

Transgender and disabled murders to incur far harsher hate-crime penalty | UK news | The Guardian

"Murderers who kill disabled or transgender people in hate crimes are to face much longer prison sentences under government proposals.

The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, said the "starting point" for judges sentencing in disability and transgender murder cases was to double from 15 to 30 years.

The move will bring sentencing in these cases in line with murders in which race, religion or sexual orientation is an aggravating factor.

It follows the jailing in September of Leon Fyle, 23, for life for the murder of Destiny Lauren, a transgender woman who worked as a prostitute. Fyle, who was convicted after a retrial, was given a 21-year tariff.

The proposal is part of the government's first strategy to tackle transgender prejudice in England and Wales. The equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, said the strategy included support for transgender pupils in schools, measures to tackle discrimination in accessing public services and greater steps to protect transgender people's privacy, including not having their transgender identity revealed at work without their consent.

Ministers are to introduce amendments to the legal aid, sentencing and punishment bill now going through parliament to double the starting point in murder cases. It will also allow judges to pass tougher sentences for any crime in which hostility towards transgender or disabled people is an aggravating factor.

Clarke said that hate crime left sections of society living in fear and at risk of unprovoked violence. "The courts already treat hate crime seriously and aggravate sentences accordingly," he said. "These proposals make clear offenders should be in no doubt that they face a more severe sentence for these unacceptable crimes."

The "starting points" for sentencing killers are laid down in the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, which provides judges with guidance on determining the minimum term under a life sentence for murder. Any aggravating or mitigating factors present in the case are then taken into account by the judge before reaching the final minimum term or tariff."

Crime Stoppers in the Tulsa Co. jail - FOX23 News

2011-12-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Crime Stoppers in the Tulsa Co. jail - FOX23 News

"More than three thousand people are booked into the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center in Tulsa every year.

Deputies say unless security reasons, it doesn’t matter what type of crime inmates are accused of, they are housed in the same cells.

Imagine all the jailhouse chatter that goes on behind the walls, eventually someone is going to talk and now inmates can call a tip for free.

You can call, text and e-mail Crime Stoppers tips.

"We know that other bad guys and scorned lovers are the big frequent fliers are Crime Stoppers,” says Crime Commission Executive Director Carol Bush.

Some of the callers could be inmates with a beef. "There is always jailhouse chatter and jail house snitches for everything,” says Bush.

Any of the information can be reported to Crime Stoppers for free inside the jail. Signs are posted at telephones encouraging inmates to call Crime Stoppers.

"There are a lot of people inside jails that know stuff that is going on the outside and sometimes they know they need to get those people off the streets,” says Crime Stoppers supporter Lewis Billy.

He lives near 11th and Rockford and says he wants criminals invading his neighborhood reported.

"Prostitution, we've had a lot of drive-bys in a few months,” says Billy.

The tipsters could already be locked up with what deputies call “weekenders”. They are someone who is serving scheduled time for offenses such as a DUI.

If those less violent offenders overhear information about bigger crimes, they can call Crime Stoppers inside the jail or when they get out.

"They have a tendency to want to tell somebody because they are good people, they just made a mistake,” says Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Shannon Clark.

Or the tipsters could be hardened criminals who want to score some extra cash for the reward.

"There is a jailhouse etiquette and they are competitive and start tattle telling on each other’s crimes,” says Clark.

Jail calls are recorded but to keep Crime Stopper callers anonymous, the call is on speed dial to the answering service in Texas."

JAG impact on the criminal justice system

2011-12-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

JAG impact on the criminal justice system

"Most of the officers who attend my grant writing classes are familiar with the JAG. It is the most flexible of all justice grants for law enforcement, but lots of questions about what JAG supports and what it will allow departments to do with the grant funding arise, both in the classroom and in question submitted to Policegrantshelp.com. Hopefully an introduction to this comprehensive report will offer insight into the JAG. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in applying for a JAG grant read the full report.

The National Criminal Justice Association in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance recently published a report titled "Cornerstone for Justice/Byrne JAG and its Impact in the Criminal Justice System." This comprehensive review of the Jag provides insight into the grant funded initiatives throughout the criminal justice system. The report includes law enforcement, court systems, technology initiatives, corrections, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, victims support, juvenile delinquency and initiatives in strategy planning. Let me provide a summary of the report.

As stated in the report “The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant is presented as the cornerstone federal justice assistance grant program. It grew out of the omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to assist state and local government in strengthening and improving operation of law enforcement functions in the states.”

Today the JAG has expanded to include all aspects of justice and is deemed the most flexible of all of the grants for law enforcement. Police departments have used the JAG to test new and initiatives, technology, expand their policing strategies and purchase needed equipment.

Sixty percent (60%) of the total JAG funds are allocated to the state criminal justice planning agencies, the State Administering Agencies (SAAs) who then in turn pass a designated percentage through to local governments and other organizations, including non-profit service providers. The funding is administered through seven key purpose areas of law enforcement: prosecution and courts, prevention and education, corrections and community corrections drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation and technology and crime victim and witness. Fifty Two Percent (52%) of JAG funding is allocated to law enforcement."

Conservatives' omnibus crime bill clears Commons | News | National Post

2011-12-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Conservatives' omnibus crime bill clears Commons | News | National Post

"OTTAWA — The opposition has called it misguided, at least two provinces have vowed not to pay for it and the Canadian Bar Association has done its darndest to get the Conservatives to listen to reason.

Still, the controversial omnibus crime bill cleared the Commons Monday evening, just 45 sitting days after it was first tabled.

The Safe Streets and Communities Act — a hodgepodge of nine justice bills, most of which were defeated in previous Parliaments when the Conservatives were in minority status — easily passed thanks to the government’s new majority in a vote of 157 to 127.

“Parliament has seen and debated these measures, some of them for as long as four years,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said earlier in the day as he called on all MPs to unanimously support the measures — even though this clearly was no longer necessary, nor likely to happen.

“The time for talk is over. The time for action is now.”

The government fast-tracked the bill through the Commons, invoking closure every step of the way to limit debate, and Nicholson expressed hope that the bill also would move through the Senate “expeditiously.”

It is likely to pass second reading before Parliament breaks for the holidays and the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs will begin hearing from stakeholders and examining the bill clause-by-clause in the new year.

Bill C-10 is poised to become law by March 16, 2012, the 100th sitting day of the 41st Parliament.

The Senate, however, will need to consider six government amendments proposed by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews at the 11th hour following consultations with stakeholders after House Speaker Andrew Scheer ruled them out of order.

Nearly identical to some of the 38 proposals tabled by Liberal justice critic Irwin Cotler, the amendments aimed at strengthening provisions that allow victims of terrorism to sue their perpetrators were ultimately rejected by a Commons committee.

The late day flip-flop raised the ire of the opposition, which argued this was an abuse of democracy and proof the government was pushing the bill through without adequate debate.

Cotler, who was justice minister under Paul Martin, said Monday that he has spoken with his colleagues in the Senate and has suggested a number of other amendments for the opposition to bring forward.

“I do hope that maybe the government will say, ‘Okay, the Senate is the chamber of sober second thought,’ and maybe they’ll give it that sober second thought, revisit some of their own legislation and see that it gets improved by the Senate deliberations,” he said, noting the government does, however, also have a majority in the Senate.

“The way they exercised their majority in the House, I’m not confident that they’re going to do things differently in the Senate, but there’s always hope.”

Cotler said the biggest “holes” in the bill include the fact that it contains no protection for the mentally ill, that some of the provisions are “constitutionally suspect” and could end up being challenged in court and that changes to the International Transfer of Offenders Act give the minister of public safety unfair and arbitrary powers."

Migrants Say They're Unwilling Mules For Cartels : NPR

2011-12-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

Migrants Say They're Unwilling Mules For Cartels : NPR

"Mexican drug cartels have found a new source of labor to backpack marijuana into the United States: illegal immigrants.

Federal agents, prosecutors, defense attorneys and migrants themselves say that traffickers have begun recruiting undocumented immigrants at the border, both voluntarily and forcibly. Now, U.S. courts along the border have to decide what to do with terrified immigrants who come before them and say, "The cartel made me do it."

Rodolfo and Jose Luis were fairly typical economic immigrants. Strong, resourceful and poor, they arrived at Ojinaga, Mexico, with the intention of crossing the border and making their way to Colorado to look for work as roofers. But when they arrived at the Rio Grande on Oct. 21, ready for the journey north, they were met by three trucks full of heavily armed young toughs belonging to La Linea, a drug gang based upriver in Juarez.

"They hit us, threw us on the ground, searched us and took our money," Rodolfo said at the Pecos Criminal Justice Center in Pecos, Texas. "Then they told us if we didn't smuggle drugs for them, they would kill us. They didn't give us any other option."

So that's what Rodolfo and Jose Luis did. They each shouldered a 50-pound backpack full of marijuana and carried it across the dry riverbed into Presidio County, Texas. The cartel guide who accompanied them carried a radio, but no weapon. So as soon as they were out of sight of the border, they dropped the dope in the brush and high-tailed it north. The next morning, Border Patrol agents found them tromping through the desert and arrested them for illegal entry.

"I told the Border Patrol that we were forced to carry it," Rodolfo said. "They told us we were lying. I said, 'No, I'm telling the truth. We'll show you.' So we took them to the place near the river and the marijuana was still there."

In November, the prosecutor dropped the charges. Rodolfo and Jose Luis — fearing for their lives — were deported back to Mexico. They asked that their last names not be used in this story."

Hoping to Reform Justice System, Groups Eye Sunset Review — Texas Department of Criminal Justice | The Texas Tribune

2011-12-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hoping to Reform Justice System, Groups Eye Sunset Review — Texas Department of Criminal Justice | The Texas Tribune

"With the Texas Legislature set to begin the state review process for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Pardons and Paroles in January, advocacy groups have already begun lobbying the Sunset Advisory Commission, which will conduct the review.

"As a human rights organization, our perspective is that these conditions are cruel and unusual, they violate the Constitution, and that it's illegal to house prisoners in these conditions," said Scott Medlock of the Texas Civil Rights Project.

The group has already sent a letter to the Sunset Advisory Commission noting what it considers inadequate health care for prisoners.

But Medlock knows arguing for prisoners' rights doesn't always get far in tough-on-crime Texas. So he's also proposing measures he says could improve prisoner conditions while cutting costs for the state, like reviewing sentencing policies that keep geriatric inmates behind bars, where they disproportionately use up the prison system’s limited health care dollars.

"So that results in old and frail prisoners who have already served an extremely long time in prison that then become very expensive to care for as they reach their later years," Medlock said.

Mark Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, agrees that sentencing and the prison population should be reviewed. He said the state must prioritize its prison space to keep threats to society behind bars but should steer lower-level offenders, like individuals convicted of minor drug possession, out of jail."

FFWD - Calgary News & Views - News - Crime bill

2011-12-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

FFWD - Calgary News & Views - News - Crime bill

"The clock is ticking on the Harper government’s promise to pass its omnibus crime bill within 100 parliamentary days (expected to come around mid-March). Bill C-10, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, is opposed by other levels of government, lawyers, criminologists, advocacy groups and virtually every stakeholder. One voice that has remained noticeably mute is the Alberta government’s.

The bill is a 150-page bundle of seven previously introduced measures, which were not passed, created for the Conservatives’ “tough on crime” agenda. If passed, it will, among other things: allow the victims of terrorism to sue terrorists; extend the time period required before criminal pardons are granted; discontinue house arrest for violent criminals; introduce safeguards against human trafficking; and usher in minimum sentences for sexual offences against children, drug-related offences and repeat young offenders.

The Alberta government has relatively little to say about the omnibus crime bill, but it is supportive. Alberta Justice Minister Verlyn Olson, speaking recently in the legislature, said that Alberta backed the legislation when it was introduced last spring and continues to do so now. Alberta Justice spokesperson Josh Stewart reiterates Olson’s position.

“We were supportive of them (the seven bills) in the past and we’re supportive of them still,” Stewart says. “We were involved in quite a bit of the work behind C-10; a lot of the legislative changes at the federal level we’ve been pushing for over the years.” Stewart points to mandatory sentencing and added prohibitions against the sexual predation of children as two of the areas the Alberta government had a hand in.

“I think Albertans definitely are pro for a stance of being tough on crime. I don’t think there’s a question on that,” he adds.

Not every province shares that view. Ontario and Quebec’s governments are perhaps the most vocally opposed. Both provinces are fighting the omnibus bill’s hardline stance on crime and refusing to pay for the anticipated expansion of the corrections system.

Stewart and the solicitor general’s spokesperson, Jason Maloney, dismiss concerns over increased costs as premature.

“There are going to be costs, but it does take money to fight crime,” says Stewart. “It’s really too early to speculate on what the costs might be or against how those costs might be split.”

While the provincial government appears confident Albertans support the proposed changes, those in the province who are familiar with crime and punishment seem unanimously opposed."

Obama: Drug Addiction is a Disease, Not a Crime

2011-11-29T07:41:00.000-08:00

Obama: Drug Addiction is a Disease, Not a Crime

"The Office of National Drug Control Policy hosted a media briefing on Nov. 20, to highlight the Obama Administration’s unprecedented approaches to addressing drug addiction.

Ben Tucker, deputy director for State, Local, and Tribal Affairs set the tone by giving stats about how costly criminalizing drug use has been.

“The Department of Justice released new data showing that drug use cost our society about $193 billion a year. Fifty six billion of those dollars can be traced directly back to costs associated solely with the criminal justice system,” said Tucker.

The deputy pointed out that contributing to this immense cost are the more than seven million people in the United States who are under the supervision of the criminal justice system with more than two million behind bars.

For states and localities across the country, the costs of managing these populations have grown significantly. Between 1988 and 2009, state corrections spending increased from $12 billion to more than $50 billion per year.

“African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately incarcerated for drug offenses. These two groups have consistently higher proportions of inmates in state prison who are drug offenders compared to Whites - about 50 percent higher among these minorities compared to Whites,” said Tucker.

“As our nation works to recover from the greatest recession we’ve had, we must do everything we can to lessen the harm that drug offenses and drug use have on the health, safety, and economic potential of our nation and our fellow citizens.”

Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy outlined unprecedented actions being undertaken by the Obama Administration to address this challenge by breaking the cycle of drug use, crime, incarceration and re-arrest.

The Obama Administration’s approach to criminal justice drug policy is guided by three facts; that addiction is a disease that can be treated; people can recover and new interventions are needed to appropriately address substance abuse and drug-related crime.

“We cannot arrest our way out of our nation’s drug problem and while new strategies are being implemented there is more to do,” said Kerlikowske.

This last fiscal year, the Obama Administration spent $10.4 billion on drug prevention and treatment programs compared to $9.2 billion on domestic drug enforcement."

Beyond Fighting Crime, FBI Reaches Out To Victims : NPR

2011-11-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

Beyond Fighting Crime, FBI Reaches Out To Victims : NPR

"When FBI agents arrive at the scene of a shooting or a terrorist attack, there's often someone else standing in the background. It's a representative from the FBI's Office for Victim Assistance, there to help people suffering in the aftermath of a disaster.

The planning for those unfortunate days starts here, in a windowless conference room in the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building, where seven serious-looking people are sitting around a table.

They're talking about how to pick volunteers to serve on five elite teams of victim specialists they deploy when something really bad happens: what they call a mass casualty event. That means a bombing, a massacre or a terrorist attack.

Dr. Steve Porter is a clinical neuropsychologist who used to work with special forces in the military.

"It's a very demanding process," Porter says of the victim-assistance rapid-deployment teams. "These people who volunteer to be on this have to be able to leave in a moment's notice, almost. ... They have to be on call 24/7. They never know when they're going to get called."

They need to be able to help with basic needs, Porter says, such as safety, food, shelter and clothing.

In cases they know about in advance, such as raids on brothels where young women are trafficked, FBI social workers say they plan ahead: buying T-shirts, sweat pants and flip-flops for women inside who might need them.

"There are so many things we can't do for them — we can't alleviate their loss — but we do try to provide for those practical needs and a lot of that starts with information," says Kathryn Turman, who created the victim-assistance office at the FBI 10 years ago this December.

Sometimes that means a little something more. In the early days, not long after Turman started the unit at the FBI, she reached out to a woman whose husband had been killed in a bombing in Iraq.

"I said, 'I wanted to say how sorry we are about your husband's murder,'" Turman says. "And she said, 'You're the first person who's used that word.' And that's what it was: It was a murder."

Turman and the FBI office she leads represent a pioneering philosophy, says Mai Fernandez, who directs the National Center for Victims of Crime, a nonprofit advocacy group."

The Charlotte Post - Challenge to Racial Justice Act

2011-11-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

The Charlotte Post - Challenge to Racial Justice Act

"Two years after it became law, the Racial Justice Act is under attack by N.C. district attorneys who fear it could wreak havoc on public safety and want it repealed.

“No district attorney supports race as a factor in either death penalty cases or in the criminal justice system in general,” Susan Doyle, president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, said in a statement. “While the name of the act sounds well-intentioned, the actual application is a threat to justice, truth and public safety.”

Supporters of the RJA, which prohibits seeking or imposing the death penalty on the basis of race, say that it is not a get of jail pass. For those who prove racial discrimination, their sentence will be commuted to a life without parole.

“It doesn’t let anybody get out of jail,” said Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth, a primary sponsor of the act. “You have to spend the rest of your life in jail.”

But Doyle said that argument is misleading because prior to October 1, 1994, life without parole wasn’t an option under the Fair Sentencing Act, which governed sentencing during the 1980s and early 1990s. Anyone who committed a crime under that law would be eligible for parole after 20 years, which would include time served.

“The most concerning thing is that the law as it’s currently written could allow anywhere from 73 to 90 people who are currently death row inmates to be immediately considered for parole if their death sentences were vacated and life imposed,” she said.

A letter addressed to N.C. Sen. Phil Berger (D-Guilford), president pro tempore, on Nov. 14 on behalf of all 44 district attorneys, calls for an amendment the RJA. All but two of the DAs are white, and only one attorney didn’t sign the resolution. Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline, who didn’t sign it, declined comment.

The letter came just days after prosecutors failed in their attempt to stop Gregory Weeks, an African-American superior court judge, from presiding over the state’s first RJA case.

The N.C. RJA allows for relevant evidence to be used including statistical evidence to establish that race was a significant factor in seeking or imposing the death penalty."

NCAI: Congress deals setback to tribal justice

2011-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

NCAI: Congress deals setback to tribal justice

"According to studies, Indian reservations nationwide face violent crime rates more than 2.5 times the national rate, and some reservations face more than 20 times the national rate of violence.

WASHINGTON – Leaders of the National Congress of American Indians said the U.S. Congress has leveled a major setback to Indian tribes in need of critical resources to combat the highest crime rates in the country.

Congress’s decision to cut more than $90 million from proposed funding for Department of Justice measures in Indian Country leaves tribal law enforcement and federal personnel with far too few resources to fight crime on tribal lands, NCAI officials said.

Signed into law in 2010 with bipartisan support, the Tribal Law & Order Act sets out to reduce crime in Indian Country by making improvements to the way criminal justice is administered on tribal lands and reauthorizing critical tribal justice programs.

On Nov. 14, Congress released the fiscal year 2012 Appropriations Conference Report for Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. The report shows funding cuts for tribal justice programs across the board and did not include a proposed 7 percent tribal set-aside for all discretionary Office of Justice Programs.

The report also proposes $15 million cuts to both the COPS Tribal Resources Grant Program and the Tribal Youth Program. Funding for tribal assistance within OJP was also cut, receiving only $38 million – $62 million short of the approximate $100 million initially proposed in President Barack Obama’s FY 2012 budget request.

NCAI officials said the funding cut is a failure of significant proportions and will make the act’s intended goals difficult to attain."

Oddly, Texas can teach the UK a thing or two on criminal justice | Ian Birrell | Comment is free | The Guardian

2011-11-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

Oddly, Texas can teach the UK a thing or two on criminal justice | Ian Birrell | Comment is free | The Guardian

"Hang 'em high Texas is not the first place you might look for lessons in criminal justice. The lone star state prides itself on
its toughness, with more executions and fewer bleeding hearts than
elsewhere in America, the most hardline state in a nation that locks
up more miscreants than anywhere else in the world. But it is the unlikely centre of a revolution in prison reform sweeping the US, overthrowing decades of failed polices and sterile debate driven by politicians scared of being seen as soft. The state has cut crime, costs and the numbers in jail to such an extent it has just shut a high-security prison for the first time in history.

What makes this prison revolt even more unexpected is that it is led by some of the most conservative figures in politics. They have decided – correctly – that an expensive prison system repeatedly locking up the same people is a sign of failure. As a result, they have endorsed policies traditionally seen as liberal to keep people out of jail.

The right in Britain should take note as our prison population hits record highs. Just as in this country, politicians in Texas were desperate to be seen as being tough on crime. There was reckless rhetoric and endless headline-grabbing legislation, including the ludicrous three-strikes law that led to life sentences for a third offence – even when that was stealing a slice of pizza.

Inevitably, prison populations and spending soared. The costs of incarceration rose fourfold in two decades. America now accounts for a quarter of all prisoners on the planet – and two-thirds of new inmates are recidivists.

Then Texas decided enough was enough. Four years ago, it was told to spend another $2bn on 17,332 new prison places. Instead, the state opted to invest in halfway houses to help those leaving prison and schemes to aid addicted and mentally ill offenders. Since then, taxpayers have saved a billion dollars, violent crime has fallen to its lowest level for three decades, and the right has seen the light on criminal justice. More than a dozen states have made similar moves, with some of the most doughty bastions of conservatism softening sentencing policies and shifting emphasis to treatment, training, early release and community-based punishments. A campaign called Right On Crime has been launched to promote the idea, supported by conservative standard-bearers such as Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich.

The driving force was financial. But it makes perfect sense for the right. As the group's website says, turning law-breakers into law-abiding citizens should be a conservative priority because it advances public safety and the rule of law. The cause unites libertarians wanting to scale back the state, fiscal conservatives seeking to reduce spending, social conservatives concerned by family breakdown, and a religious right that believes in redemption.

Is it too much to hope for a similar outbreak of common sense in Britain? Among the biggest disappointments of the Blair and Brown governments was their pandering to the right on crime, with 28 criminal justice bills. The coalition has tried to adopt a more evidence-based approach, with an emphasis on rehabilitation and payment by results, but is wobbling in the face of fury on the backbenches and in the media."

Youngstown News, Mental health courts: A good idea then and even better now

2011-11-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

Youngstown News, Mental health courts: A good idea then and even better now

"Ohio Supreme Court Justice Eve- lyn Lundberg Stratton and Attorney General Mike DeWine are once again collaborating in the important work of breaking a pattern that too often ends with mentally ill people facing criminal charges and ending up in jail or prison.

Nearly a decade ago, Justice Stratton was working her way around the state touting federal legislation that had been authored by then-U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-6th, that encouraged development of mental health courts. At the time, we urged Mahoning County to pursue establishment of one, and it did so.

Today, Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Maureen A. Sweeney presides over the court, which is one of 37 in the state. The court works with mental health agencies in the county to provide a better, cheaper and more just alternative than jail for nonviolent offenders who are battling mental health issues.

The movement toward recognizing the need for intervention and an alternative to incarceration followed the deinstitutionalization movement and the closing of state mental health facilities decades ago. The motives of that movement may have been pure and even necessary in an age when too many people were too easily confined to institutions. But the effect was also to put many people on the streets who still had mental health issues and who were, for a variety of reasons, not receiving treatment or medication.

And in that environment, those people ended up arrested, in court and, often, in prison. Back in 2000, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said it was housing 6,393 mentally ill inmates, 3,051 of whom were classified as severely mentally disabled. Five years later, mentally ill inmates were still an enormous burden on the Department of Corrections, with $64 million spent in 2006 on mental health care for inmates — more than was spent on food for all inmates."

Quebec Justice minister challenges senator over anti-crime bill

2011-11-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Quebec Justice minister challenges senator over anti-crime bill

"QUEBEC — Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier issued a challenge Wednesday to Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, after the Conservative senator said Quebec is “soft on crime,” to come up with scientific evidence that Ottawa’s proposal for stiffer sentences will work better.

“Give us one document,” Fournier told reporters, calling Boisvenu’s position “demagogic.”

“I can give you until Friday,” the minister added.

“If they are right, they will not be afraid to have a debate with scientific studies in the name of victims in Quebec and across Canada.”

Fournier is incensed that the Harper government is ignoring his advice and pushing ahead with C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, an omnibus bill calling for mandatory and longer sentences, with sweeping amendments to the Criminal Code and related laws.

“Stop the C-10 express and give us time to do things properly,” Fournier told reporters.

Boisvenu said at an Ottawa news conference that Fournier’s assessment of C-10 is wrong.

Boisvenu’s daughter Julie was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2002 by a 27-year-old man out of prison on parole after being convicted of a sexual offence.

The Quebec minister objects that changes in C-10 to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, to treat some young offenders as adults, would undo Quebec’s practice of counselling and rehabilitating minors who commit crimes so they do not become repeat offenders.

Boisvenu said only three per cent of young offenders would be effected by C-10, those committing violent crimes, such as murder or aggravated sexual assault."

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+Justice+minister+challenges+senator+over+anti+crime+bill/5722274/story.html#ixzz1dyqf1Tzj

Lying on the Internet could soon be a federal crime

2011-11-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Lying on the Internet could soon be a federal crime

"The US Department of Justice wants to make it a federal crime to violate the “terms of service” of any website, reports Declan McCullagh at CNet. According to this interpretation, breaching the terms of service of websites — which can be done by simply using a fake name on Facebook, lying about your weight on a dating site, or using Google if you’re under the age of 18 — could make you a criminal.

According to a leaked statement that Richard Downing, the DoJ’s deputy computer crime chief, will reportedly deliver to Congress on Wednesday, the DoJ will argue that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) — an amendment to the Counterfeit Access Device and Abuse Act generally used to prosecute hacking and other serious cyber-crimes, and which went into effect way back in 1986 — must give prosecutors the ability to charge people “based upon a violation of terms of service or similar contractual agreement with an employer or provider.”

According to Downing, the expansion of this law is necessary for law enforcement to prosecute individuals for identity theft, privacy invasion or the misuse of government databases, among other infractions. Limiting “prosecutions based upon a violation of terms of service… would make it difficult or impossible to deter and address serious insider threats through prosecution,” Downing is expected to say.

Just to reiterate, in case you didn’t catch that sly turn of legalese, the DoJ is saying that not allowing them to prosecute people for violating websites’ terms of service would make it “more difficult or impossible” to scare people with the threat of prosecution. Yay, America!

Of course, if the DoJ is permitted to act upon the CFAA in the way they want, a vast number of Internet users would be in violation of federal law, especially because almost nobody even reads terms of service, let alone follows them to the letter. Fortunately, some very smart and authoritative people will be present to argue this very fact.

Orin S. Kerr, professor of George Washington University Law School, will testify against the Department of Justice, arguing that the DoJ’s interpretation of the CFAA is “extraordinarily broad.”

For example, Kerr explains that Google’s terms of service stipulate that if ““you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with Google,” you are forbidden from using any of its sites or services. Seeing as the legal age of contract in most states is 18, “a 17-year-old who conducts a Google search in the course of researching a term paper has likely violated Google’s Terms of Service. According to the Justice Department’s interpretation of the statute, he or she is a criminal,” writes Kerr."

Few Felons Should Have Guns - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

2011-11-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Few Felons Should Have Guns - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

"Laws that strip felons of their right to vote after they have served their sentences are bad public policy. I see no public interest in denying individuals their voting rights. Such policies can encourage discriminatory criminal justice policies and worsen the mistrust many minority communities feel toward law enforcement.

In contrast, there is a clear public interest in restricting the ability of felons to possess firearms. Michael Luo’s investigative report in The Times clearly demonstrates the harmful effects of allowing felons to have guns. As Luo reports, research has shown that denying handgun purchases to people convicted of serious misdemeanors reduces the risk of committing new violent crimes by 20 to 30 percent. Restoring felons’ right to legally possess firearms comes at a cost: more gun violence and innocent lives lost.

Although there is a division of opinion in the U.S. about guns generally, polls show overwhelming support for policies designed to keep guns from people with a history of criminality. And public opinion is consistent with the data on ex-convicts and crime. Individuals convicted of crimes, even nonviolent misdemeanors, are on average many times more likely than law-abiding citizens to subsequently commit acts of violence."

N.J. launches program to help veterans in criminal justice system | State | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.

2011-11-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

N.J. launches program to help veterans in criminal justice system | State | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.

"The state government has teamed up with federal, and Atlantic County officials to launch a pilot program in in the county aimed at identifying and providing community-based services to veterans and active duty military personnel who become involved in the criminal justice system.

State Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced Wednesday in Mays Landing that a two-year Veterans Pilot Initiative will attempt to provide community-based programs such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, anger management and family counseling to eligible veterans and active duty military personnel who find themselves in trouble with the law and the crime appears related to a substance abuse or mental health issue.

The program will offer eligible criminal defendants who are veterans and/or active duty military personnel with a substance abuse problem or mental health illness the opportunity to receive counseling or treatment under strict guidelines and in lieu of incarceration. Prosecutors will work with licensed treatment professionals in identifying viable participants and with both public and private defense counsel on plea agreements that ensure compliance with a treatment regimen.

“The collaboration among the agencies involved in the initiative reflects growing awareness of the strains our men and women in uniform experience when they return home from war,” Dow said. “Unfortunately, this can result in drug or mental health issues that result in criminal activity. For those who serve in our armed forces, where we can, and where it is appropriate, the justice system should marshal its resources to help get them back on the right path.”

“I am proud that this initiative will be led by the men and women in Atlantic County for the next two years,” Atlantic Prosecutor, Theodore F.L. Housel said. “This office has always understood the issues facing veterans. Those of us who were Assistant Prosecutors in the late 1970’s and 1980’s vividly remember the Vietnam veterans who became involved with the criminal justice system because of experiences that occurred overseas. Like those individuals, the men and women who have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve our understanding and help. Combat-related trauma can have devastating effects on the physical and mental well-being of our soldiers for years following deployment; this program is designed to ameliorate some of those effects.”

As part of the program, if a person who is charged with committing a crime in Atlantic County is a veteran, a member of the reserve or active duty military personnel, he or she will be screened and evaluated by a licensed clinician from Jewish Family Services, a contracted service provider in Atlantic County."

10 convicts are offered last chance in new police program

2011-11-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

10 convicts are offered last chance in new police program

"It was an intervention of community proportions — with the added muscle of local, state and federal law enforcement and criminal justice agencies — for 10 of the worst repeat violent offenders in Madison.

And at least some of those who earned the distinction were glad to be part of the first call-in Tuesday for a new Madison Police Department initiative whose message rang out repeatedly from representatives of the FBI to the City Attorney’s Office to community members.

“Your violence will no longer be tolerated in this community,” Madison Police Chief Noble Wray told the 10. “Consider yourself under a microscope.”

Christopher Cole of the FBI said: “We know who you are. We’re watching,” referring to the agency’s surveillance and wiretapping.

But along with the promise of swift arrest and prosecution — in federal court for gun, drug and even tax offenses — and the full force of the law crashing down on them came offers of help in finding a job and housing, getting counseling and earning a GED.

“I’m glad I came,” said Carlton Harris, 30, of Madison, who got out of prison in May after serving six years for possession of firearms. “The resources was what I liked the most.”

Once involved in gangs, Harris said he plans to get married Nov. 25 and hopes to find a better job, further his education and benefit from mentoring.

“I think that it’s a very good thing,” his fiance, Angela Jadoo, said of the program."

Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/convicts-are-offered-last-chance-in-new-police-program/article_03baa4df-9f22-5397-aa26-cbe59ad93b1c.html#ixzz1dE5luaRu

U.S. Supreme Court rejects killer's appeal - Houston Chronicle

2011-11-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

U.S. Supreme Court rejects killer's appeal - Houston Chronicle

"The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected Houston killer Duane Buck's request that it review his death sentence - a punishment handed down despite former Texas Attorney John Cornyn's assessment that it might have been tainted by racial considerations.

The high court stopped Buck's Sept. 15 execution in order to decide whether to take up the case. Buck, 48, was sentenced to die for the July 1995 murders of his former girlfriend, Debra Gardner, and her friend, Kenneth Butler. Buck also shot his sister, Phyllis Taylor, in the chest at point-blank range, but she survived and later argued that the killer should be spared.

The approaching execution of Buck, an African American, brought other pleas for mercy, including one from a former Harris County assistant district attorney who had assisted in his prosecution.

At issue was testimony in the trial's punishment phase from psychologist Walter Quijano, who, on cross-examination, said being black could contribute to the killer's "future dangerousness" in prison. Future dangerousness is a key factor jurors consider before assessing a death sentence.

Cornyn in 2000 identified Buck's case as one of six that may have been compromised by Quijano's testimony The other five convicted killers ultimately received new punishment hearings and again were sentenced to death."

U.S. Supreme Court rejects killer's appeal - Houston Chronicle

2011-11-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Crime victim rights advocates seek constitutional amendment - chicagotribune.com

2011-11-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

Crime victim rights advocates seek constitutional amendment - chicagotribune.com

"Years after her 11-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted, Denise Rotheimer wants the right to sue the Lake County prosecutors who sent the offender to jail, saying they defamed her child by telling the judge that the girl "had issues."

In Cook County, Maria Ramirez believes prosecutors violated her rights by refusing to let her file a complaint after she was threatened by relatives of a juvenile charged with her son's 2006 murder.

Both women found that — after floundering through a complex criminal justice system that critics say is weighted toward ensuring the rights of the accused — their rights as crime victims were unenforceable.

Victims of violent crimes "are not the people you want to further victimize or betray," said Rotheimer, who along with her daughter, Jasmine Jimenez, now 21, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Lake County's state's attorney and the state of Illinois. She hopes it leads to a precedent that prosecutors can be held legally accountable.

"I am saying, let's have a right to be able to hold accountable a person who violates or denies you your rights to justice, prosecutor or not," Rotheimer said.

The Illinois Constitution already provides 10 rights for crime victims, including that they be treated with respect, given notice of court hearings and be allowed to attend trials and present victim-impact statements.

But if those rights are violated, there's no mechanism for a crime victim to appeal to a higher court, said Cindy Hora, who heads the Illinois attorney general's crime victim services division. And Illinois is the only state whose constitution specifically prohibits victims from seeking legal remedy through an appeal, Hora said."

Katy Welter: Smart Criminal Justice Policies Gain Momentum in Chicago's Cook County

2011-11-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Katy Welter: Smart Criminal Justice Policies Gain Momentum in Chicago's Cook County

"County and city officials have taken bold yet prudent steps toward sensible, cost-effective public safety policies. The county has expanded use of electronic monitoring and the city is now considering issuing a fine in lieu of arrest for marijuana possession -- a move many suburbs have already made.

Both plans aim to relieve the mounting fiscal, political, and humanitarian costs imposed by crowded jails and overburdened police and courts. They also represent incremental steps toward fundamental, systemic reform.

These policy changes will save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The Chicago Reader recently reported that city and county officers made approximately 28,000 arrests for marijuana possession last year.

The vast majority of these cases were ultimately dismissed, but not before racking up the substantial processing costs of paperwork and preliminary court hearings. In the case of felony arrests, many defendants who are unable to meet even modest bail requirements spend days or weeks in the county's notoriously crowded jail only to have their cases dismissed.

Electronic monitoring provides a cost-effective alternative to imprisoning a non-violent defendants while their case is pending in court. Offenders wear GPS devices that ensure high rates of compliance and safety.

Since 2009, the county has increased the number of defendants on EM from fewer than 100 to 865 today. That number is now scheduled to jump since County Board President Preckwinkle awarded Sheriff Dart $1 million in October for expansion of the EM program. This is money well spent. EM costs about $65 a day -- less than half of the daily cost to confine someone in Cook County Jail.

Taking a different approach to excessive criminal justice costs, Chicago's City Council this week will consider reducing the penalty for possession small amounts of marijuana possession. Under the proposal, individuals caught with 10 grams (approximately 1/3 of an ounce) or less will be fined $200. Presently, possession of 10 grams or less is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail."

The Senate's Latest (Unnecessary) Scandal: A Criminal-Justice Commission - Andrew Cohen - Politics - The Atlantic

2011-11-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

The Senate's Latest (Unnecessary) Scandal: A Criminal-Justice Commission - Andrew Cohen - Politics - The Atlantic

"Another month, another dismaying example of a smart measure stymied in Congress by Republican intransigence. This time, 43 GOP members of the Senate blocked passage of legislation that would have created a new National Criminal Justice Commission, a bipartisan group designed to help figure out how to bring some order to the chaos that currently exists in the nation's criminal justice systems. The cops supported the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union supported it. But Senate Republicans wouldn't even allow a merits vote on it. On October 19th, they filibustered.

Predictably, the primary sponsor of the measure, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), was furious. One of the more conservative members of the Democratic caucus, and someone with legitimate street cred when it comes to law and order, Webb took to the Senate floor Tuesday and delivered these biting remarks:

Mr. President, eleven days ago all but four of the Republicans in this body filibustered a common-sense piece of legislation that would have created a national commission designed to bring together some of the best minds in America to examine our broken and frequently dysfunctional criminal justice system, and to make recommendations as to how we can make it more effective, more fair, and more cost-efficient.

This legislation was the product of more than four years of effort. It was paid for. It would have gone out of business after 18 months. It was balanced philosophically. It guaranteed equal representation among Democrats and Republicans in its membership. I must say that at first I was stunned at the filibuster at the hands of 43 Republicans. But on the other hand, Mr. President, it is impossible not to notice, over the past two years, the lamentable decline in bipartisan behavior in this body, even in addressing serious issues of actual governance. I say this with a great deal of regret, both personally and politically.""

Eric E. Sterling: Congress on Speed: Partisan Conflict Led to Many Problems in 1986 Drug Law

2011-11-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Eric E. Sterling: Congress on Speed: Partisan Conflict Led to Many Problems in 1986 Drug Law

"Today, the 112th Congress is stalled, mired in partisan conflict. Last week, the votes of 43 Republican senators blocked the proposal of Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) to create a National Criminal Justice Commission to study and recommend improvements to the criminal justice system. But in the 111th Congress, the proposal passed the House on a voice vote in 2010. This proposal, endorsed by the National Sheriffs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the ACLU, had bi-partisan support last year. This year, however, partisan conflict has blocked the measure.

Other times, partisanship has led Congress to move too fast, and that produced trouble. Twenty-five years ago last Thursday (Oct. 27), President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, after less than ninety days of jockeying between the Democratic House and Republican Senate.

The political wrangling was triggered by the cocaine death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias on June 19, 1986 as he celebrated signing with the Boston Celtics. In the media blitz following his tragedy, House Speaker "Tip" O'Neill from Boston spotted political opportunity for Democrats to claim anti-drug leadership in time for the election. Eager to complete a package before the August campaigns, the bills were very hastily written. Having spent many hours in the Speaker's conference room helping to write the law as counsel to the House Crime Subcommittee, I was invited to the White House twenty-five years ago. I've followed the results of that law closely.

The law's best known blunders were the long sentences for small amounts of drugs. Congress finally acknowledged the unfairness of crack sentencing and its racial disparity when it passed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. But many other features of the 1986 law were also bad policy.

The Drug-Free Schools program of 1986 got about $12 billion over twenty years. Every evaluation found it did not reduce drug use. The Administration finally eliminated this waste last year when the proof of its ineffectiveness at last overcame its political attractiveness -- $500 to 600 million per year in contracts and salaries.

The "designer drug" law we wrote in 1986 prohibited classes of drugs before they could even be invented and before they could be found to be beneficial or harmful. The presumption behind this ban, that any new drug would be "dangerous" and "bad," stigmatizes and deters discovery of new potentially beneficial drugs. Like most of the other provisions of the 1986 law, this one failed to do anything to prevent the spread of "ecstasy," synthetic cannabis such as "spice" and "K2," and stimulants marketed as "bath salts."

The National Forest System Drug Control Act of 1986 was supposed to protect the National Forests from marijuana cultivation. It was a fine idea, but the "protection" was not thought through. Expanded surveillance of urban electricity usage and scanning for temperature anomalies by drug agents encouraged by the potential riches from property forfeitures led to large-scale and destructive marijuana plantations over-running more than 61 National Forests by 2009."

Flaws in the criminal justice system help fugitives cross borders - chicagotribune.com - start

2011-11-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Flaws in the criminal justice system help fugitives cross borders - chicagotribune.com - start

"Justice Department officials say they are capturing more international fugitives than ever. But breakdowns at every level of law enforcement enable uncounted numbers of suspects to flee across the U.S. border and then hamper their apprehension.

County prosecutors
Local prosecutors prepare voluminous extradition packages that are sent to the Justice Department and then to foreign governments. County officials can be overwhelmed by the complex paperwork and the costs of translators, outside counsel and even airline tickets for sheriffs and returning fugitives. The Tribune identified more than 60 Cook County fugitives law enforcement traced to Mexico, yet the Cook County states attorneys office said they are actively seeking the extradition or deportation of only 12 of those suspects.

Example: Among those not on the countys active list is career criminal Juan Jacquez (Tribune summary), wanted on charges of killing a South Side man in 2002. Months later, a family informant provided Chicago detectives with Jacquezs exact address in Santiago Papasquiaro, Mexico, but no visible progress has been made in the case.

County judges
At cursory bond hearings, judges gave some murder and rape suspects the keys to their own escape by setting low bonds or failing to limit the travel of foreign-born and dual-nationality citizens by confiscating their passports or imposing other restrictions.

Example: Chicago maintenance mechanic Dimitrios Amasiadis (Tribune summary) posted a cash bond of just $1,000 after being charged in 1998 with sexuallyassaulting his 10-year-old stepdaughter over a period of years. Born in Guatemala to a Greek father, Amasiadis mortgaged his house to raise more than $30,000 and then fled to Greece, where he remains today. Amasiadis was convicted in absentia. His sister Patricia Echeverria professes his innocence and told the Tribune that Amasiadis is "still happily married" and raising a new family. "Hes not looking over his shoulder," she said.

Illinois law
A family exemption in Illinois law bars authorities from charging close relatives with harboring or aiding fugitives. There is no deterrent against family helping suspects flee by driving them to bus stations and airports, providing cash or withholding information from police.

Example: In 2005, after 21-year-old Muaz Haffar was charged with murdering a university student with a bike lock, he fled to Syria. Haffars father in the Chicago area helped arrange his trip and a brother accompanied Haffar on part of his journey out of Chicago, according to law enforcement sources. Muaz Haffar remains at large."

Criminal justice conundrum | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment

2011-10-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

Criminal justice conundrum | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment

"Last May the Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population to ease overcrowding, leading to concerns about the impact on society of the early release of some prisoners.

The event illustrates the tangled interaction of federal and state law in the criminal justice system. While the prosecution of crimes is the principal responsibility of states, the federal government gets involved in many ways.

Congress has greatly expanded the list of federal crimes; states and municipalities are influenced by and to some degree dependent on federal grants; and federal courts set limits on police and prosecutors as well as on prison systems. A federal sentencing commission sets length-of-incarceration standards the states must respect

This tangle produces outcomes that are costly and sometimes counterproductive. It clearly needs a serious review. Any national study especially needs to consider the tensions between state and federal interests.

The widely hailed proposal by Sen. James Webb, D-Va., for a national commission to study the criminal justice system recently fell victim to these tensions. All but four Republican senators voted against bringing up Sen. Webb's bill, denying the required 60-vote super-majority.

The principal argument advanced by the opponents was that the commission's structure and mandate paid insufficient attention to states' responsibilities."

Tougher sentencing will put pressure on prisons - Crime, UK - The Independent

2011-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Tougher sentencing will put pressure on prisons - Crime, UK - The Independent

"The jail population in England and Wales could soar towards 95,000 within six years, Whitehall officials forecast yesterday as the Coalition signalled a toughening in its approach to criminal justice policy.

In a defeat for Kenneth Clarke's liberal instincts on sentencing, the Justice Secretary announced automatic jail terms for 16- and 17-year-olds found guilty of knife offences and American-style mandatory life sentences for offenders convicted of a second violent or sexual crime. Just 24 hours earlier he had expressed grave reservations about both policies, but appeared to have been overruled by David Cameron.

After years of increases, the prison population had recently begun to stabilise – and Mr Clarke said last year he believed it could be cut by 3,000. But it will be boosted by up to 1,000 as looters involved in the summer's riots serve tough sentences imposed by courts. The effect on jails is already beginning to be seen, with the prison population rising to a record 87,670 this month.

And according to new projections by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the numbers behind bars could rise to a possible high of 94,800 in 2017, a total that would require the construction of several new jails. Mandatory prison sentences for knife crime committed by adults will also increase the pressure on the prison population.

Numbers of teenagers in custody had been falling in recent years, but the MoJ yesterday estimated that the mandatory jail sentence for 16- and 17-year-olds guilty of knife offences could lead to the imprisonment of up to 400 youngsters a year. Although Mr Clarke yesterday predicted the new "two strikes and you're out" life sentences for the most violent offenders would affect only 20 people a year, the proposals marked a distinct change of rhetoric by the Government on criminal justice.

They come months after Mr Cameron vetoed the Justice Secretary's plans to give sentence discounts to offenders pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity. The new populist tone – unlikely to be welcomed by the Coalition's Liberal Democrats – echoes the hardline "prison works" approach to law and order of Michael Howard when he was Home Secretary between 1993 and 1997."

Can restorative justice help balance the scales for African-American youth? - Travel Wires - MiamiHerald.com

2011-10-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Can restorative justice help balance the scales for African-American youth? - Travel Wires - MiamiHerald.com

"CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Darryl is a 12-year-old African American boy whose mother, Ariel, is a single parent. Ariel left high school after becoming pregnant with Darryl and has struggled to find anything but minimum wage jobs to support her family.

One day when he was out with another friend, Darryl and his friend snuck into the neighbor's house and stole a video game. The neighbors called the police.

One might conclude that the future does not bode well for Darryl. In fact, we probably would not be surprised if we were to learn later on that he was in prison. However, there is much more to his story, and much to learn from it. The police response ultimately resulted in a restorative intervention and provided Darryl with an alternative approach.

All too often, the criminal justice system offers only one solution to addressing transgressions: incarceration. A 2008 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, an organization that focuses on improving public policies, found that one in 15 black men 18 years of age and older are incarcerated, compared with one in 106 white men. Even more startling, one in nine young African American men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars, compared to one in 30 of the general U.S. population in that age group.

There are no easy answers to the question of what to do about the disproportionate incarceration rates of young African American men. Nor is there a single solution to address the many layers of structural inequalities that perpetuate cycles of poverty and violence in their lives. We know that incarceration does not solve the problem of crime; this is evident in the fact that around 40 percent of released inmates are back in prison within three years. For some people, prison can induce change, but the reality is that once within the "system," many people tend to stay.

So how do we prevent people from entering the system? How do we respond appropriately to young people like Darryl who commit a crime? The best response is a preventative one - creating structures that help prevent youth from entering into criminal activity in the first place and provide them with support to become productive citizens. Even so, the reality is that crimes will still be committed. Consequently, we need an alternative approach to address these transgressions."

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/27/2474252/can-restorative-justice-help-balance.html#ixzz1bzwz4O4f

Ken Clarke in rift with Theresa May over knife-crime children - Crime, UK - The Independent

2011-10-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ken Clarke in rift with Theresa May over knife-crime children - Crime, UK - The Independent

"Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary, yesterday opened a fresh rift with the Home Secretary, Theresa May, over whether to jail children found guilty of knife crime.

Plans for automatic prison sentences of six months for knife-wielding adults are currently going through Parliament, but Mrs May has signalled she wants the punishment extended to under-18s.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, and Conservative MPs, have argued that the planned age for an automatic custodial sentence for using a knife to threaten life should be lowered. But appearing before MPs, Mr Clarke made clear he opposed the move, warning it would run counter to Britain's criminal justice system.

The Cabinet colleagues clashed at the Tory conference when Mr Clarke ridiculed Mrs May's claims that an illegal immigrant had avoided deportation under human rights legislation because of his pet cat.

Mr Clarke told the Home Affairs Select Committee that he supported automatic jail terms for knife-carrying adults, but added: "The idea that mandatory sentences now apply to certain types of offence, to young offenders, to children, to juveniles, is a bit of a leap for the judicial system.""

Civil groups want Zille to act on ‘failures’ of justice system | The New Age Online

2011-10-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Civil groups want Zille to act on ‘failures’ of justice system | The New Age Online

"Civil organisations working in Cape Town townships have asked Premier Helen Zille to institute an independent commission of inquiry into the “continued and systematic failures of the criminal justice system”.

The organisations have criticised the police for failure to investigate criminal cases thoroughly, claiming that investigations were conducted poorly, resulting in criminal cases being taken off the court roll.

Social Justice Coalition, Ndifuna Ukwazi; Equal Education, Treatment Action Campaign, Triangle Project and Women Legal Centre representatives met Zille and community safety MEC Dan Plato recently, and asked Zille to institute an independent commission of inquiry.

This was directly pertaining to “certain failures of the criminal justice system in Khayelitsha”.

The meeting with Zille was in response to a protest of more than 500 people on October 4 who demonstrated outside the provincial parliament where, for the second time, the organisations issued a memorandum of grievances calling for a commission of inquiry to be instituted into the continued failure of the justice system in Khayelitsha, focusing on the conduct of police officers.

The organisations stated that through their work over “many years” they had identified “numerous” problems that prevented the realisation of the residents’ right to justice in Khayelitsha.

“In our collective experience and work, many victims of crime in Khayelitsha and in other working class and poor communities do not have adequate access to justice, a right that is guaranteed by the Constitution and the victims’ charter,” said the organisations.

Zille said she had explained to representatives from the organisations the province only had oversight of the police and that she asked them to submit a formal complaint “as I can only act on receipt of a formal complaint”."

Sex-offender info now on Facebook » Local News » Press-Republican

2011-10-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Sex-offender info now on Facebook » Local News » Press-Republican

"ALBANY — Users of Facebook can now get information about sex offenders living in their neighborhoods

Facebook users can access information about medium- and high-risk sex offenders with just a few clicks — and without leaving the social-networking site.

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services has launched its Sex Offender Locator Application, which is accessible via the New York State Public Safety Facebook page: facebook.com/nyspublicsafety.

The Division of Criminal Justice maintains the state's sex-offender registry and a registry subdirectory on the website criminaljustice.ny.gov/nsor that provides information about Level 2 (medium risk) and Level 3 (high risk) sex offenders. The new Facebook application is designed to make that information more readily accessible.

"New Yorkers now have another way to access up-to-date information about sex offenders in their neighborhoods," Division of Criminal Justice Acting Commissioner Sean M. Byrne said in a news release.

"With Halloween around the corner, parents now have another tool to learn where offenders live so they can ensure their children stay away from those locations, as well as strangers' homes. The Facebook app puts that important information at parents' fingertips, whether they are at home or on the go."

In all, 32,994 registered sex offenders are listed on the state's Sex Offender Registry: 12,473 Level 1 offenders; 11,685 Level 2 offenders; 8,163 Level 3 offenders; and 673 offenders whose risk level is pending."

Can Criminal Justice Be Quantified? - Andrew Cohen - National - The Atlantic

2011-10-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Can Criminal Justice Be Quantified? - Andrew Cohen - National - The Atlantic

"There's an interesting study out from the NYU School of Law which buttresses the argument that America would save a ton of money down the road, and make life easier for many of its citizens, if lawmakers today were able to muster up the moxie to remodel criminal justice systems. It's a concept that requires political foresight and a patient public, which means most politicians and their constituents will blindly reject it, but I hope serious people everywhere take a long look at this.

The report is called "Balanced Justice," a joint project by the Institute for Policy Integrity and the Center for the Administration of Criminal Law, and it again urges policy makers to aggressively employ economic cost-benefit analyses when evaluating decisions about their criminal justice systems. "Public safety can be prioritized and even improved at a lower cost than traditional incarceration," the report concludes, "using techniques like behavioral therapy for young offenders, intensive supervision, or a new iteration of a drug court.""

Consultants say that Oklahoma should get more from its criminal justice system | Tulsa World

2011-10-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

Consultants say that Oklahoma should get more from its criminal justice system | Tulsa World

"MUSKOGEE - Oklahoma's criminal justice system is expensive and not particularly effective, a team of consultants from the nonprofit Council of State Governments' Justice Center said Tuesday.

With House Speaker Kris Steele moderating comments from an audience of about 30, the consultants' presented their preliminary findings for the third time in two days, having previously appeared in Lawton and Enid.

The team is part of the council's Justice Reinvestment program, which is described as a "data-driven approach to reduce corrections spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can decrease crime and strengthen neighborhoods."

The program is credited with helping Texas, Kansas and about a dozen other states redesign their corrections systems.

"Oklahoma has increased spending for corrections by 41 percent while violent crime remains virtually unchanged," Steele said during preliminary remarks. "At least 36 other states have seen decreases in violent crime during that same period."

Project Director Marshall Clement said he and his colleagues had identified three major areas of concern: The state has unchanged or rising crime rates that run contrary to national trends; a high percentage of Oklahoma inmates are released without supervision; and Oklahoma's prison population is increasing at an unsustainable rate.

Clement said Oklahoma's murder rate has remained almost unchanged over the past decade while the national rate has declined 13 percent.

Robbery, he said, has gone up 15 percent in the state while declining 18 percent nationally during the same period.

Clement said the increases may be related to declines in the number of police per capita in the state, especially in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He noted that Norman had increased its police force by 18 percent relative to its population and had seen a corresponding 48 percent drop in violent crime.

About half of Oklahoma inmates are released from prison without any required supervision, Clement said. State Corrections Director Justin Jones, who was among those in attendance, said that's because so many serve their full sentences before being released.

Later, during questions and remarks from the audience, it was mentioned that many inmates prefer to stay in jail rather than be released under supervision - in part because of the costs associated with supervised release.

According to corrections officials and attorney Mark Bonney, inmates on supervised release have to pay at least $100 to $150 for such things as monitoring devices and behavioral treatment. Sex offenders must take polygraph exams every six months at a cost of about $250 each time.

"I've had people I've sentenced tell me they'd rather serve a full sentence than get out early with supervision," said Muskogee County Special Judge Robin Adair. "That indicates to me the importance of supervision."

Clement said Oklahoma will need an additional 3,000 prison beds in the next few years just to accommodate the population increase caused by the state's 85 percent rule - a state law requiring many offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

Jones said the effect of the 85 percent rule has been compounded by a trend toward longer sentences."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20111019_16_A1_CUTLIN935911

Consultants say that Oklahoma should get more from its criminal justice system | Tulsa World

2011-10-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Commission For Major Criminal Justice Overhaul Back On Track In Congress

2011-10-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Commission For Major Criminal Justice Overhaul Back On Track In Congress

"WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) on Monday afternoon offered his National Criminal Justice Commission Act as an amendment to a major appropriations bill now before the Senate. A standalone version of the NCJCA stalled in the Senate in 2010 despite bipartisan support in the House.

If created, the Commission would "undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, encompassing current Federal, State, local, and tribal criminal justice policies and practices, and make reform recommendations for the President, Congress, State, local, and tribal governments," according to the amendment. The last time Congress conducted such a review was in 1965.

Once established, the Commission would have $5 million and 18 months to put out a report on what can be done to fix -- if not entirely overhaul -- the American criminal justice system.

Speaking to HuffPost soon after he first proposed the NCJCA in 2009, Webb said, "I heard from Justice [Anthony] Kennedy of the Supreme Court, from prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, former offenders, people in prison, and police on the street. All of them have told me that our system needs to be fixed, and that we need a holistic plan of how to solve it."

Indeed, Justice Kennedy did his part in May of this year when he delivered a 5-4 decision ordering California to release about 46,000 prisoners from the state's notoriously overcrowded prison population. Overall, the United States houses 25 percent of the world's prisoners despite only having 5 percent of the global population.

Webb has also shown skepticism toward the effectiveness of the "war on drugs," noting the 1200 percent increase in incarceration of drug offenders since its Reagan-era inception. In a 2009 radio interview, Webb called the prospect of marijuana legalization a "very legitimate question" for the Commission to consider."

Health News - Innovative justice responses to sexual violence needed

2011-10-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Health News - Innovative justice responses to sexual violence needed

"By: Deborah Marshall - Victims of sexual violence need more than legal reform in seeking justice, according to a Griffith University study. They need "visionary change" in policy perspectives.

"Conventional and Innovative Justice Responses to Sexual Violence" by Professor Kathleen Daly, from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, reveals that despite 30 years of sexual violence law reform, conviction rates in Australia, Canada, England and Wales continue to fall.

The overall conviction rate for sexual offences reported to the police for five common law jurisdictions, including Australia was 18 per cent in an earlier period (1970-1989), but had declined to 12.5 per cent in recent years (1990-2005).

Professor Daly said research on conviction rates and victims' experiences in the legal process showed that justice system responses remained inadequate.

"Victims continue to express dissatisfaction with how the police and courts handle their cases and with their experiences of the trial process."

Professor Daly said one explanation for decreasing conviction rates was as more sexual offenses were reported to police, they contained a higher share of known relations and rape contexts that do not match the "real rape" construct of stranger relations – visible physical injury, and being assaulted in a public setting.

She said legal officials, along with other members of society, could have negative stereotypes of victims unless the assault contexts conformed to this construct.

"The demonisation of some sexual offenders makes them seem so monstrous that women’s everyday victimisation experiences by partners, friends, and colleagues cannot be imagined as 'real rape'.

"Many commentators believe the crux of the problem lies in cultural beliefs about gender and sexuality, which dilute and undermine the intentions of rape law reform."

She said finding the balance between censuring wrongs and validating and vindicating victims required imaginative and innovative ways of thinking about justice beyond prosecution and trial, or of increasing punishment.

"We require a shift in the priorities of legal reform, away from the trial and toward mechanisms of encouraging admissions to offending, including the pursuit of alternative pathways of participation and support for victims, offenders, and others affected by sexual violence."

She said the criminal justice system should not be considered the principle site for changing people's behaviour and attitudes about gender and sexuality."

Criminal justice departments prepare for N.O. budget process - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

2011-10-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Criminal justice departments prepare for N.O. budget process - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8

"New Orleans -- With just under two months left for the Mayor and the council to decide how to spend nearly a half a billion of your tax dollars next year, there’s a lot of talk about the budget process.

“It should be somewhere I suspect in the range of $485 million. It’s about what it was last year,” says Councilwoman Stacy Head.

Head says she suspects every department would like to have more money, but she says there is only so much of it to go around. When it comes to the criminal justice system, Head says it’s about spending smart.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro says he plans to ask the city for slightly more money for his office. Even so, he’s been critical of the Criminal District Court judges over the past year about wasting resources, saying they need to work harder.

“The court system does not operate terribly efficient and if you talk to any group, they’ll say it’s the other one’s fault. But bottom line, it’s the DA’s office, it’s the Public Defender’s office and it’s the judges,” says Head.

The councilwoman says those three agencies need to get together and figure out how to move cases through the system more efficiently.

Last year, $200,000 was cut from Criminal District Court. This year, the court plans to ask for that money back, bringing its overall budget to somewhere around $3 million."

Michelle Alexander: More Black Men Are In Prison Today Than Were Enslaved In 1850

2011-10-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Michelle Alexander: More Black Men Are In Prison Today Than Were Enslaved In 1850

"More black men are behind bars or under the watch of the criminal justice system than there were enslaved in 1850, according to the author of a book about racial discrimination and criminal justice.

Ohio State University law professor and civil rights activist Michelle Alexander highlighted the troubling statistic while speaking in front of an audience at the Pasadena Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Elev8 reports.

Alexander, the author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," reportedly claimed there are more African American men in prison and jail, or on probation and parole, than were slaves before the start of the Civil War.

More than 846,000 black men were incarcerated in 2008, according to U.S. Bureau of Justice estimates reported by NewsOne. African Americans make up 13.6 percent of the U.S. population according to census data, but black men reportedly make up 40.2 percent of all prison inmates.

The criminal justice system is the newest in a long line of societal structures that have disenfranchised people of color, Alexander argues in her book, according to ColorLines.

In an excerpt from her book published on her website, Alexander writes that despite today's belief in "colorblindness," our criminal justice system effectively bars African American men from citizenship, treating them as a separate caste:

"Denying African Americans citizenship was deemed essential to the formation of the original union. Hundreds of years later, America is still not an egalitarian democracy. The arguments and rationalizations that have been trotted out in support of racial exclusion and discrimination in its various forms have changed and evolved, but the outcome has remained largely the same."

More African American men were disenfranchised due to felony convictions in 2004 than in 1870, "the year the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the basis of race," she wrote in a Huffington Post blog published last year."

Victim agencies to receive grants | The Tribune

2011-10-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Victim agencies to receive grants | The Tribune

"Two Lawrence County agencies that assist crime victims will receive grants from the Ohio Crime Victim Compensation fund totaling more than $136,000, according to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office.

The Criminal Justice Program in the Office of Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr., will receive $66,800 in grant funds while the Lawrence County Domestic Violence Task Force domestic violence shelter have been awarded $69,500, according to a press release.

Officials with both agencies say the annual grants, which are awarded as part of the State Victims Assistance Act and the federal Victims of Crime Act, are vital to providing local services to victims of crimes and domestic violence in Lawrence County. The grants require a 25 percent local match.

Kathy Beals, director of victim’s assistance in Collier’s office, said the grant money is used to cover personnel costs for its three victims advocates. Advocates serve as a liaison between the victim and the prosecutor, she said.

“We lead them through the criminal court proceedings, educate them and go to these court proceedings if they are not able to attend,” Beals said. She added advocates also help victims file compensation claims for uncovered medical and/or counseling bills and help them register for the VINELink service. She said in Lawrence County advocates assist victims of both felony and misdemeanor crimes.

“If there were no victim advocacy for Lawrence County, the prosecutors themselves could not contact every victim in the cases, so their voices wouldn’t be heard essentially. There are too many cases for them to actually cover,” Beals said.

Elaine Payne, director of the Lawrence County Domestic Violence Task Force, said the funds are equally important for her agency. Without the annual assistance its domestic violence shelter would “absolutely shut down,” she said. As it is, she added, the agency struggles to raise the required 25 percent local match every year."

2011-10-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness, regret and justice

"The culture of South Korea places a high value on honor, or face. When someone expresses regret or asks forgiveness they are seen as repudiating their inappropriate behavior and choosing proper conduct. This choice to behave in a proper manner reduces their dishonor and saves face. Admission of wrongdoing, expressing regret, and asking for forgiveness are behaviors that are also granted high standing in the Korean criminal justice system. A defendant who admits to wrong behavior receives a reduced sentence. A defendant who proclaims their innocence is perceived as unrepentant and, if convicted, receives a harsher penalty. The regretful offender usually obtains release from confinement during the pre-trial period and a defendant who obtains the forgiveness of the victim, or the victim’s family, often escapes jail time even for the most egregious offenses.

However, this system often results in court decisions that confound Western sensibilities and, more and more frequently, infuriate the Korean populace. Recently two cases have brought attention once again on the often inscrutable decisions of the Korean courts. The first case revolves around the release of the box office film Dogani , or “the Crucible,” which dramatizes the sexual molestation of students at a school for the hearing-impaired from 2000 to 2005 and highlights the minimal punishment imposed on the perpetrators. The second case is a recent decision by the Seoul high court drastically reducing the prison sentences imposed by the lower court on four young men in their 20s convicted of the prolonged sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. In both cases when reducing the prison sentence, or imposing probation in lieu of prison, the courts referred to the perpetrators expressions of regret and, more significantly, to the fact that the perpetrators had reached settlements with the victims and their families.

However, the question arises whether reducing criminal sentences or choosing whether to impose only probation based on these factors is appropriate. On closer examination it is clear that this system creates perverse incentives. A defendant’s knowledge that a reduction of the severity of the prison sentence imposed will be based on an admission of guilt and its concomitant perceived regret may cause even an innocent defendant to admit guilt in order to reduce the potential penalty. This becomes even more likely when a defendant realizes that admission of guilt can result in avoiding jail time or even the potential cessation of prosecution. Nonetheless as society must rely on the criminal justice system to accurately distinguish between the innocent and the guilty, everyone under the law must hope that the incentives created by this factor never result in any severe violation of an innocent individual’s basic human rights to life or liberty.

Regardless of society’s hope regarding infrequent admissions of guilt by innocent individuals, nothing can excuse the court’s predilection towards reducing or even vacating the criminal sentences of those offenders who obtain the forgiveness of the victim, or the victim’s family. From a purely philosophical standpoint when a person commits a crime, that person commits it not just against the victim, but against the entire society. According to this theory of social contract, victims simply do not have the power to free the perpetrator from punishment. The offender is punished because of their violation of the social contract under which all members of a society have agreed to live. The victim may be eligible for compensation for pain and suffering, but the offender cannot escape the punishment of society. Repeated failure by the courts to adequately punish offenders for violations of the social contract inevitably undermines the rule of law that governs society and increases everyone’s vulnerability to crime."

Read more: http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111011000131

Katy Welter: Finding the "Fat Catchers" of Criminal Justice

2011-10-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Katy Welter: Finding the "Fat Catchers" of Criminal Justice

"Cook County criminal justice can learn some valuable lessons from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Oakland A's. Namely, experts are often overconfident. They make mistakes because they see the world from a narrow, limited perspective, and they have inadequate, unsystematic information. Their incorrect diagnoses can be tremendously costly. Rather than rely on the personal observations and experience of experts to solve our problems, it may be better to make simple, incremental changes and then observe the results.

In 2002, the NIH abruptly terminated one of the largest medical studies ever conducted. The reason? The treatment provided to tens of thousands of menopausal women, hormone replacement therapy, turned out to increase the patients' risk of heart disease and cancer. This was particularly shocking because, for decades, the treatment had been widely thought to be relatively low risk. Doctors had not detected the complications.

At a recent conference in downtown Chicago, Jens Ludwig of the University of Chicago told a group of prosecutors (and a few observers) about the relevance of this to criminal justice policy. According to Ludwig, the initial hormone replacement studies made the treatment seem safe and effective because the women who signed up for the experimental treatment were likely to be health conscious--and, thus, were especially likely to be healthy. As a result, few of those women developed heart disease or cancers. If the women needing treatment had been randomly assigned to varying therapies, including hormone replacement, the risks of the hormones would have been seen. But the selection bias, as it's called, masked the negative effects, and it was subtle enough to escape the experts' notice, yet significant enough to devastate the NIH trial.

Similarly, innovative criminal justice reforms may produce misleading results if they are not implemented using systematic research methods. For example, a three percent decrease in recidivism is too small to be seen by decision makers active in the day-to-day administration of justice, but a change of that size could be detected in a well-designed experiment. And a 3% reduction in recidivism would save taxpayers and the victims of crime millions of dollars. It is something you would want to know about."

‘Incendiary,’ a Documentary About Willingham Case — Review - NYTimes.com

2011-10-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/movies/incendiary-a-documentary-about-willingham-case-review.html">‘Incendiary,’ a Documentary About Willingham Case — Review - NYTimes.com

"“Incendiary: The Willingham Case” covers a man’s execution in Texas for the murder of his children by arson. But this involving documentary, while sympathetic to opponents of the death penalty, isn’t focused on sorting out the ethical rights and wrongs of the practice. It centers instead on whether we understand or respect evolving standards of scientific evidence.

The much-reported case, in short: In 1991 two fire investigators in Corsicana, Tex., found evidence of arson that led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004. Years later, when nationally recognized experts examined the trial, that evidence was largely debunked. Even Texas standards had changed, suggesting that the forensic findings in the case were based more on folklore than on science.

Yet the state judicial system and oversight panels did not accept those new conclusions. Where “Incendiary” will most capture attention, though it does so soberly and professionally (no Michael Moore-style hyperbole here), is in its examination of the political role in that process. Specifically, it examines whether Gov. Rick Perry, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, and his appointees — particularly John Bradley, the prosecutor who from 2009 to earlier this year led the scientists on the recently formed Texas Forensic Science Commission — interfered with the hearing of re-examined forensics because it would have prevented a faithful assurance that no mistakes had been made.

The Innocence Project, including one of its founders, Barry Scheck, became involved in the case, making for some of the film’s most combative scenes. For contrast, Mr. Willingham’s original court-appointed lawyer, David Martin, is interviewed outdoors, where his remarks are interrupted by the crows of roosters. He calls his client a psychopath and a sociopath; says later scientific findings go against his common sense and personal experience; and hints that attorney-client privilege prevents him from saying more.

Mr. Martin is confident in his convictions. The filmmakers are confident about their science. Justice, this strong documentary asserts, is at risk in the division."

Jackson Death Trial Showcases iPhone Forensic Capabilities - PR Newswire - sacbee.com

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Jackson Death Trial Showcases iPhone Forensic Capabilities - PR Newswire - sacbee.com

""iPhone users would be stunned to learn the amount of recoverable data we can get," says Mark McLaughlin of Los Angeles based Computer Forensics International. "When you hit delete it doesn't necessarily mean that message, text or picture is gone forever. You're just telling the iPhone, don't show it to me anymore and it flags that deleted data so it can be overwritten. So depending on the activity after the deletion, we may be able to bring it back like it was never deleted."

DEA Computer Forensics Examiner Stephen Marx testified today in the Michael Jackson Death Trial that he found emails the defendant Dr. Conrad Murray had sent hours before Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. Not only did Marx recover critical timeline emails, he also discovered digital medical charts thought to be non-existent. But the key piece of evidence was a damaging audio recording of an impaired Michael Jackson reportedly made by Murray.

Computer forensic examiners like McLaughlin, routinely use very sophisticated software tools, such as EnCase, on civil and criminal cases. They start by first making a copy of the iPhone's entire memory – which includes active and deleted data. This exact copy doesn't disturb the original data which makes the examination forensically sound and admissible in court. Then the copy can be searched either visually or by using keywords. The recovered data is ultimately put into known iPhone categories and displayed."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/05/3963662/jackson-death-trialshowcases.html#ixzz1a1PtaEbL

Justice Reforms Help Child Witnesses | Stuff.co.nz

2011-10-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Justice Reforms Help Child Witnesses Stuff.co.nz

"Under 12s will be allowed to pre-record their evidence to court or appear by video link to protect child witnesses and speed up-hearings, under new measures to be introduced next year.

Justice Minister Simon Power has just announced a package of reforms to '' dramatically improve'' how children are treated in the criminal justice system.

Under new laws, to be introduced next year, a child's evidence must be recorded within six months. A youngster could only be re-called for further questioning only when ''absolutely necessary.''

Specialist intermediaries will also be brought in to improve the questioning of complainants under 18. They will be trained in the 'cognitive development and language comprehension' of children and funded using money raised by the $50 offender levy.

Child witnesses will also be allowed to have a 'support person' present while giving evidence. Currently they have to apply to a judge for permission.

Judges must also warn juries not to draw interferences from the demeanour of children who pre-record their evidence.

"Introducing specialist intermediaries and pre-recording a child's evidence and then playing it back at trial can be an effective way of sparing the children the trauma of attending trial many months later,'' Power said.

The inquisitorial-style package of reforms will be contained in the Evidence Amendment Bill, expected to be introduced into Parliament next year.

Power said the reforms were shaped by an Auckland University of Technology report on child witnesses, and a visit to Germany and Austria last year to investigate inquisitorial systems of justice.

"It disturbs me that AUT's research found that 30 per cent of children wept while testifying, more than 70 per cent of them did not understand a question posed by a defence lawyer, and that 65 per cent were accused by the defence of lying," Power said.

He said the judiciary will play a more active role in determining whether questions to be put to child witnesses are appropriate. "

Conservative Party Conference 2011: we must tackle 'feral underclass', says Ken Clarke - Telegraph

2011-10-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Conservative Party Conference 2011: we must tackle 'feral underclass', says Ken Clarke - Telegraph

"In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Clarke said jails should be ''places of retribution but also places of reform."

Mr Clarke said he was ''dramatically'' expanding the working prisons programme and welcomed the support of eight major companies, including Virgin and Marks & Spencer.

The Justice Secretary, who has faced claims he is soft on crime, told the gathering in Manchester: ''At Altcourse Prison near Liverpool, prisoners do 40 hours of hard work every week in a metal workshop.

''Part of their earnings goes to fund services for victims of crime and because these prisoners have got some skills, they are less likely - a lot less likely - to return to prison.

''So the burden on the taxpayer, on you and me, is less.

''I am in the process of expanding this working prisons programme quite dramatically.
''It's is not something Government can do alone, we need the private sector, socially responsible private partners, on board.''

High-profile business leaders including Sir Richard Branson and Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland called for more criminals to be given jobs in a bid to harness the talents of ''potential superstars'' in the prison population in a joint letter to the Financial Times.

Among the other signatories are Matthew Davies of Pets at Home, Steve Holliday of National Grid, Ian Sarson of Compass Group, James Reed of Reed Specialist Recruitment, Malcolm Walker of Iceland Foods and James Timpson from the family key cutting and shoe repair empire.

Mr Clarke said: ''The idea is to provide hard work in prison so that prisoners would be doing something productive, instead of doing nothing.

''Plotting a more honest future instead of planning their next crime, earning money to pay back to victims instead of dreaming of creating new victims through future crimes.''

Mr Clarke repeated his claim that a ''feral underclass'' was responsible for the rioting that spread through English cities this summer. "

Supreme Court Turns to Criminal and First Amendment Cases - NYTimes.com

2011-10-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Turns to Criminal and First Amendment Cases - NYTimes.com

"WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, which has been focused in recent terms on the rights of corporations and on curbing big lawsuits, returns to the bench on Monday with a different agenda. Now, criminal justice is at the heart of the court’s docket, along with major cases on free speech and religious freedom.

“The docket seems to be changing,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy told reporters at a judicial conference in August.

“A lot of big civil cases are going to arbitration,” he said. “I don’t see as many of the big civil cases.”

Still, the shift in focus toward criminal and First Amendment cases will soon be obscured if, as expected, the justices agree to hear a challenge to the 2010 health care overhaul law. That case promises to be a once-in-a-generation blockbuster.

In the meantime, the justices will hear an extraordinary set of cases that together amount to a project that could overhaul almost every part of the criminal justice system.

The court will decide whether the police need a warrant to use advanced technology to track suspects, whether jails may strip-search people arrested for even the most minor offenses, whether defendants have a right to competent lawyers to help them decide whether to plead guilty, when eyewitness evidence may be used at trial, and what should happen when prosecutors withhold evidence.

“The Supreme Court has positioned itself to improve the quality of the criminal justice process from beginning to end,” said Eric M. Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University. "

FBI seeks to update definition of rape - baltimoresun.com

2011-09-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

FBI seeks to update definition of rape - baltimoresun.com

"The FBI is moving to change the federal definition of rape for the first time in 80 years, which authorities and women's advocacy groups hope will lead to improved tracking of the crime and an attitude shift among investigators.

Critics have maintained that the current definition is archaic, too narrow and leaves crimes uncounted in police statistics, resulting in fewer resources for victims and law enforcement. Women's advocates accelerated their push for an updated definition last year with a hearing on Capitol Hill, spurred in part by reporting by The Baltimore Sun showing how city police had misclassified rapes and sexual assaults for years.

A subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Information Service of the FBI plans to take up the task at an Oct. 18 meeting in Baltimore. Its recommendations will go to an advisory board and then to FBI Director Robert Mueller for approval.

Greg Scarbro, the FBI's unit chief for the Uniform Crime Report, said the agency has been discussing revisions since last year.

"From the highest levels of the FBI, there's an understanding that this needs to change. We just need to make sure it happens in the right way," he said.

Since 1927, rape has been defined as forcible male penile penetration of a female — which excludes cases involving oral and anal penetration, where the victims were drugged or under the influence of alcohol, and male victims.

"In order for the public to combat violence in our communities, we need to know where it exists and what it looks like," said Carol Tracy, director of the Women's Law Project, which helped spur reform in Philadelphia a decade ago and has taken a leading role in the push to update the FBI's definition.

The New York Times first reported Thursday the potential for change after police chiefs, sex-crimes investigators, federal officials and advocates convened in Washington to discuss the limitations of the federal definition and the wider issue of local police departments not adequately investigating rapes.
Among those who spoke at that meeting was Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who told The Sun that he supports a change.

"Revising the definition of rape would result in a higher and more accurate number of rapes that are reported nationwide each year," Bealefeld said. "As we in Baltimore know all too well, the accurate and complete reporting of sexual assault is critically important in order to build victim confidence and trust, as well as to understand the nature of the problem nationwide."

According to statistics released by the FBI this month, there were 84,767 sexual assaults across the country last year, a drop of 5 percent from the previous year. Sexual assaults have long been one of the most underreported types of crime, with an estimated 80 percent of assaults not referred to police, experts say."

New way eases gunshot forensics (Science Alert)

2011-09-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

New way eases gunshot forensics (Science Alert)

"Forensic detection of gunshot residues at crime scenes could be made easier and more affordable with further development of detecting barium (Ba) through anodic stripping voltammetry.

ECU School of Natural Sciences researcher Dr Magdalena Warjak says that while lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), and copper (Cu) in gunshot residues could be detected, barium is more difficult.

“There is no reliable and highly accurate on-site method for barium detection and many other industries, such as oil and gas, use barium compounds and need to constantly monitor barium concentrations in their waste before releasing it into the environment,” she says.

“Anodic stripping voltammetry is an analytical technique that allows us to detect very low levels of metal and semi-metal ions present in liquid samples, using oxidation and reduction processes—concentrations down to micrograms per litre (µg) or parts per billion (ppb).

“Each metal or semi-metal has a different stripping potential and that’s how we can identify what metals are present in a particular sample.

“The main problem is barium requires very negative potential values for the barium ions to be deposited on the working electrode and this consequently causes problems with sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy with its detection.

“The research involves investigating different electrolyte solutions, a variety of working electrodes and the use of an ultrasonic probe to reduce interference from gases formation.”

Using a portable digital voltammeter (PDV6000+), Dr Warjak has been able to detect barium in 10ppb and 20ppb barium standard solutions—the next goal is to lower the detection limit and then test the method on real gunshot residue samples.

“Currently, gunshot residues are collected using special adhesive sampling discs of various surfaces around crime scenes which must then be sent to be analysed qualitatively by a scanning electron microscope,” she says.

“This process is expensive, takes considerable time, requires trained chemists and may require additional samples to be collected later.

“It would be useful in some cases to perform a screen test to determine the presence of barium, lead and antimony in samples before sending them to the laboratory.”

Interest in Dr Warjak’s work has already come from the UK’s Cogent Environmental Company because it has clients that need to detect barium in industrial wastewater on-site.

“Anodic stripping voltammetry has yet to be presented to police forensic departments until the method has been developed and tested on real gunshot residue samples,” she says.

Dr Warjak expects her research on the residues to be finished by the end of the year."

Department of Justice: Trying Youth As Adults - PR Newswire - sacbee.com

2011-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Department of Justice: Trying Youth As Adults - PR Newswire - sacbee.com

"WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2011 -- New bulletin analyzes state laws to transfer juvenile offenders to adult court
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice has released a new bulletin that examines laws that allow or require states to prosecute some juvenile offenders in adult criminal courts. The bulletin, Trying Juveniles as Adults: An Analysis of State Transfer Laws and Reporting, provides the latest overview of state juvenile transfer laws and practices and examines available state-level data on juveniles adjudicated in the criminal justice system.

Transfer laws are not new—all states have one or more transfer mechanisms—but legislative changes in recent decades have greatly expanded their scope. To date, only 13 states publicly report the total number of their transfers, and even fewer report offense profiles, demographic characteristics, or details regarding processing and sentencing. Although nearly 14,000 transfers can be derived from available 2007 sources, data from 29 states are missing from that total.

Among the findings reported in this bulletin are the following:

In most states, criminal prosecution renders a juvenile an "adult" forever.

The number of judicially waived cases hit an historic peak in 1994, when about 13,100 cases were waived, and has fallen 35 percent since that year.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/27/3942121/department-of-justice-trying-youth.html#ixzz1ZGIp61HI

Former Texas prison cook offers to make 'last meals' for free - latimes.com

2011-09-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

Former Texas prison cook offers to make 'last meals' for free - latimes.com

"A former Texas inmate who cooked the so-called last meals for hundreds of death row inmates has offered to donate his services rather than allow condemned prisoners to do without their last meal of choice.

Last week, Texas officials announced that they were ending the practice of allowing prisoners to request special last meals. The decision came after a state lawmaker complained that an inmate had manipulated the system before his execution by requesting a large amount of food -- that he then refused to eat.

Starting this week, death row inmates will receive the same meals as other inmates, prison officials said.

Brian Price, a longtime prison cook, told the Associated Press on Monday that the move by prison officials was "cold-hearted."

"I am offering to prepare, and/or pay for, all of the last-meal requests from this day forward," he told the Associated Press. "Taxpayers will be out nothing."

Price made 220 final meals, beginning in 1991, while doing time for a pair of convictions related to the abduction of his brother-in-law and a sexual assault on his ex-wife. After his release in 2003, Price wrote a cookbook about his days at the Huntsville Unit called "Meals to Die For." He now runs a restaurant at Houston County Lake in East Texas. He could not be reached by phone late Monday.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons called Price's proposal "a kind offer" that the state did not intend to accept.

"It's not the cost but rather the concept we're moving away from," she told The Times."

Tough Sentences Help Prosecutors Push for Plea Bargains - NYTimes.com

2011-09-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Tough Sentences Help Prosecutors Push for Plea Bargains - NYTimes.com

"GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After decades of new laws to toughen sentencing for criminals, prosecutors have gained greater leverage to extract guilty pleas from defendants and reduce the number of cases that go to trial, often by using the threat of more serious charges with mandatory sentences or other harsher penalties.

Some experts say the process has become coercive in many state and federal jurisdictions, forcing defendants to weigh their options based on the relative risks of facing a judge and jury rather than simple matters of guilt or innocence. In effect, prosecutors are giving defendants more reasons to avoid having their day in court.

“We now have an incredible concentration of power in the hands of prosecutors,” said Richard E. Myers II, a former assistant United States attorney who is now an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina. He said that so much influence now resides with prosecutors that “in the wrong hands, the criminal justice system can be held hostage.”

One crucial, if unheralded, effect of this shift is now coming into sharper view, according to academics who study the issue. Growing prosecutorial power is a significant reason that the percentage of felony cases that go to trial has dropped sharply in many places.

Plea bargains have been common for more than a century, but lately they have begun to put the trial system out of business in some courtrooms. By one count, fewer than one in 40 felony cases now make it to trial, according to data from nine states that have published such records since the 1970s, when the ratio was about one in 12. The decline has been even steeper in federal district courts."

Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals In Executions : NPR

2011-09-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals In Executions : NPR

"HOUSTON (AP) — It's a tradition with roots that can be traced far back in history: Before being put to death, a condemned prisoner can choose his last meal.
Not so anymore in Texas.

Officials who oversee the country's busiest death chamber stopped the practice on Thursday after a prominent state senator complained about a hefty request from a man executed for his role in a notorious dragging death. Now, inmates get to eat only what the kitchen serves.

The controversy began after Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed on Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer didn't eat any of it.
"It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege," Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Brad Livingston, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Within hours, Livingston said the senator's concerns were valid and the practice of allowing death row offenders to choose their final meal was history.

"Effective immediately, no such accommodations will be made," Livingston said. "They will receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit."

That had been the suggestion from Whitmire, who called the traditional request "ridiculous."

"It's long overdue," the Houston Democrat told The Associated Press. "This old boy last night, enough is enough. We're fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they're fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon?

"Mr. Byrd didn't get to choose his last meal. The whole deal is so illogical."

Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining Byrd, 49, to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in a case shocked the nation for its brutality.
It was not immediately clear whether other states have made similar moves. Some limit the final meal cost — Florida's ceiling is $40, according to the Department of Corrections website, with food to be purchased locally. Others, like Texas, which never had a designated dollar limit, mandate meals be prison-made. Some states don't acknowledge final meals, and others will disclose the information only if the inmate agrees, said K. William Hayes, a Florida-based death penalty historian."

Chief judge proposes sweeping juvenile justice reforms

2011-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Chief judge proposes sweeping juvenile justice reforms

"NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - New York state's chief judge announced on Wednesday a sweeping proposal to divert youth accused of committing minor crimes from criminal to family court, a move he acknowledged could place a "heavy burden" on an already cash-strapped court system.

At a forum held at Fordham University by the Citizens Crime Commission, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman told a packed room of lawyers and judges that the adult criminal-justice system, with its emphasis on punishment over rehabilitation, was not equipped to deal with the needs of 16- and 17-year-olds.

"Prosecuting these adolescents in the criminal court does not improve public safety or the quality of life in our communities," he said.

Currently, 37 states and the District of Columbia treat 18 as the age of criminal responsibility. New York and North Carolina are the only states that prosecute 16-year-olds as adults. Lippman said that a proposal in North Carolina to increase the age of criminal responsibility could mean that "New York may very soon have the dubious distinction of standing alone on this issue."

Every year, between 45,000 and 50,000 16- and 17-year-olds are arrested in New York and prosecuted as adults, Lippman said, adding that a small fraction of these cases involved serious crimes such as rape, murder or robbery.

In family court, Lippman said, the law gives the Department of Probation the discretion to close a case if a juvenile offender complies with certain conditions. Criminal court judges have no such discretion."

New York’s Chief Judge Seeks New System for Juvenile Defendants - NYTimes.com

2011-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

New York’s Chief Judge Seeks New System for Juvenile Defendants - NYTimes.com

"New York State has long dealt with 16- and 17-year-old defendants more severely than almost every other state, trying all of them as adults in criminal courts. Now, New York’s chief judge is calling for a less punitive approach that would focus on finding ways to rehabilitate them.

The judge, Jonathan Lippman, is proposing that the state transfer jurisdiction for 16- and 17-year-olds accused of less serious crimes to family courts, which have more social services, while continuing to prosecute the most violent juveniles as adults. The plan reflects an emerging consensus in many states that troubled teenagers have been mishandled by the adult court system.

If the state adopts the plan, it will most likely have to allocate more money for social services and for the court system, which is already financially overburdened. The change would require a reorganization of the network of city and state agencies in the criminal justice system. The roles of judges, prosecutors, correction and probation officers and many others would change.

“I think it’s complex but feasible,” said Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson, the administrative judge for New York City Family Court, which would have to handle tens of thousands more cases each year under the plan.

Judge Lippman’s proposal would have to be approved by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature. The Republican majority in the State Senate has often favored more stringent criminal justice measures, and may be reluctant to approve it.

A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos of Long Island, said his office would review the proposal.

The Democratic majority in the Assembly has historically supported such measures.

New York and North Carolina are the only states that try all 16-year-olds as adults. This year, North Carolina lawmakers introduced legislation to move those cases to juvenile court. Several other states have made similar moves in recent years.

In a speech that Judge Lippman is scheduled to give on Wednesday to the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, he is to push for the state’s sentencing commission to draft a bill to be introduced in the State Legislature at the beginning of the 2012 session in January."

Debate still simmers over NY hate crime stabbing - CBS News

2011-09-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Debate still simmers over NY hate crime stabbing - CBS News

"(AP) PATCHOGUE, New York — Library assistant Gilda Ramos says she was stunned the first time Hispanics in her English language class told her that many had been victims of attacks and robberies by marauding gangs of teenagers. "Walking ATMs," is how she describes the workers, who often were robbed on Friday or Saturday night after getting paid from jobs such as dishwashing, construction or landscaping.

The revelation came just days before the fatal stabbing of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in November 2008, only a block or so from the library where Ramos teaches. His attackers later told a judge that targeting Hispanics was something they did for kicks; confident their victims would not call police, because they feared questions about their immigration status, or they assumed their complaints would be disregarded.

Seven high school pals are now in prison; the teen who inflicted the fatal blow is serving 25 years. A new PBS documentary portrays efforts by community leaders to put the killing in the past. However, a letter last week to county leaders from the U.S. Justice Department, which began a probe of police policy after the killing, indicates much still needs to be done.

The 28-page missive to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy from the department's Civil Rights Division lists recommendations for improving hate crime investigations and cites vague policies and procedures that preceded Lucero's killing. Michael Goldberger, chief of the Civil Rights Division in the department's Brooklyn, New York, office, said these were just preliminary recommendations; a final report is pending.

The recommendations included making it easier for people to register complaints about the police by placing notices in libraries and other public places, and better community outreach and improved communication with officers on the beat. The letter cited some confusion over interpreting what a hate crime is.

"Officers need to be informed clearly that youths are capable of committing hate crimes," the letter says. "The tendency to brush off attacks as 'just kids being kids' fails to recognize the severity of criminal conduct in which minors may engage, as seen from the murder of Marcelo Lucero."

Tickle The Wire » Justice Department Upping Efforts to Police the Police

2011-09-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Tickle The Wire » Justice Department Upping Efforts to Police the Police

"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ramping up civil rights enforcement against local police nationwide, opening a number of investigations to determine whether officers are guilty of brutality or discrimination against Hispanics and other minorities.

In recent months, the Justice Department has begun inquiries into major city police departments such as Portland, Ore., where officers shot several people who had mental health issues, and Seattle, where police were accused of gunning down a homeless Native American woodcarver. The department issued a scathing report earlier this month accusing Puerto Rico police of a “staggering level of crime and corruption.’’

All told, Justice’s Civil Rights Division is conducting 17 probes of police and sheriff departments — the largest number in its 54-year history. The investigations are civil, meaning they will not lead to criminal charges, but can result in court-enforced reforms."

Police chief, chief judge participating in conference on criminal justice, technology - The Washington Post

2011-09-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Police chief, chief judge participating in conference on criminal justice, technology - The Washington Post

"WASHINGTON — “Criminal Justice in the Digital Age” is the topic of a conference being held in Washington that will include the city’s chief of police and the chief judge of the superior court.

Thursday’s conference at the city’s convention center includes District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier as well as D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield. The conference includes discussions on social media, technology and children and the courtroom of the future."

Law panel, not MPs, to rule on right to silence - NZ Government - NZ Herald News

2011-09-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Law panel, not MPs, to rule on right to silence - NZ Government - NZ Herald News

"The Government's stalled reforms of the justice sector have been given an unusual lifeline with a proposal to take the controversial issue of the right to silence out of Parliament's hands and leave it to a group of legal experts.

The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill is likely to have its second reading this week, having spent a month on the order paper while Justice Minister Simon Power sought the numbers to pass it.

The bill is a shake-up of the criminal justice system and includes the removal of an accused's right to remain silent and not have that held against them.

As it stands, the bill would require the defence to disclose to the prosecution before a trial all issues in dispute. Failure to do so would enable a judge or jury to infer that the accused is more likely to be guilty. At present, a defendant can say nothing, leaving the case to the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt.

The Labour, Green and Maori parties are strongly against the bill in its present form, but the Herald understands Mr Power has won the support of United Future leader Peter Dunne and Act MPs Hilary Calvert, Heather Roy and Sir Roger Douglas by removing the disclosure regime from the bill (Act MPs are not "whipped" to vote as a caucus).

The ability of a judge or jury to infer a greater likelihood of guilt from non-compliance would also be removed.

A new clause would allow the Rules Committee, a panel of legal experts chaired by Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, to decide if a disclosure regime should be enforced, and if so, how.

The committee has responsibility for procedural rules in the court system, and relies on advice from judges, lawyers and other interested parties.

Dr Bill Hodge, an associate professor of law at Auckland University, said delegating control to the committee would be "unusual" because Parliament usually makes the law, while the judiciary applies it."

Capitol Weekly: California violent crime at lowest since 1968

2011-09-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Capitol Weekly: California violent crime at lowest since 1968

"California’s crime rate dropped across the board in every major measured category, with violent crimes – including murders and rapes – at their lowest comparable levels in more than 40 years, the state Justice Department says.

The department’s report, “Crime in California,” tracked offenses, arrests, judicial dispositions of felonies, probation, complaints against peace officers, domestic violence calls and other data over time. The full study can be seen here.

Meanwhile, some 67.6 percent of those arrested for felonies wound up getting convicted -- the lowest level in a decade.

The dense report, a collection of tables and fine print detailing criminal behavior in California society, reflects the spikes and declines of crime over several decades.

A startling finding is that the most violent crimes, homicide and forcible rape, have dropped to their lowest levels per 100,000 of population since 1966. Murders during 2010 were at 4.7 per 100,000 people, and rapes were at 21.4.

Aggravated assaults accounted for 246.5 per 100,000, compared with 155 in 1966. But the latest level is down dramatically from the high of 632.5 in 1992.

The violent crime rate dipped 6.9 percent, down to 422.3 per 100,000 from 453.6 in 2009. The decline reflected its lowest level since 1968, when it was 411.1.

The property crime rate also declined by 2.7 percent from 2009. According to the Justice Department, the largest decline in property crimes was in motor vehicle theft, which dipped 7.6 percent. The auto theft rate has dropped 62 percent since 1989, the reported noted."

JURIST - Dateline

2011-09-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

JURIST - Dateline

"Christie Tomm, St. John's University School of Law Class of 2012, is the author of the second article in a ten part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development under the direction of Professor Leonard Baynes. She writes on the need to maintain a single justice system in prosecuting alleged foreign terrorists.

After a decade of uncertainty, the Obama administration recently announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in a military tribunal, as opposed to federal court. Until the death of Osama Bin Laden, Mohammed was the person most directly involved in the 9/11 attacks apprehended by US authorities. As such, his prosecution would function as a symbol of much-awaited justice for those Americans whose lives were devastated by the horrific events of that day. However, in deciding to try Mohammed in a military tribunal, that justice will be muted and its significance undermined.

The US government set a dangerous precedent when it passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). In doing so, it gave another governing body, one that is not required to adhere to the fundamental rights outlined in the Constitution, jurisdiction to determine the guilt or innocence of non-citizens suspected of terror-related crimes. For the Constitution to continue to serve as a fundamental governing principle nationally and internationally, its validity and dominance in the federal criminal justice system should never be questioned. To ensure this, when a person, citizen or non-citizen, is charged with any crime, from petty larceny to tax evasion or terrorism, there can be only one set of rules that govern what rights the defendant is entitled to.

The MCA is contrary to the principles established by the US during more than 200 years of common law. The MCA allows military tribunals to admit into evidence confessions that do not respect an individual's Miranda or Fifth Amendment rights, and the MCA does not require that a terror suspect be given a trial to determine his guilt once he is deemed an enemy combatant, essentially allowing for his indefinite detention. However, despite the fact that the federal criminal justice system does provide these fundamental rights, it is more than adequately able to handle the trials of suspected terrorists. The executive branch, through its specially trained district attorneys, FBI agents and terrorist task forces, is prepared to deal with the particular challenges that come with investigating and trying a suspect that is not a US citizen, likely to be uncooperative and to evoke controversy and intense emotion in the public forum."

UK riots cause 8% rise in jailed children | Society | The Guardian

2011-09-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

UK riots cause 8% rise in jailed children Society The Guardian

"The influx of child prisoners accused of involvement in last month's looting and rioting has contributed to an 8% increase in the juvenile prison population in England and Wales.

That calculation is based on Youth Justice Board (YJB) figures which show 170 riot offenders aged under 18 are now in custody, adding to the 2,075 child prisoners recorded in June, the latest statistics available. A Ministry of Justice report out on Thursday suggests a lower tally; it says there are 125 juveniles behind bars for riot offences, with 21 sentenced and 104 on remand.

The Guardian has learned that two-fifths of children in custody have had no previous connection with youth offending teams – a marker of criminal behaviour which resulted in a court order.

The YJB, which has responsibility for the administration of youth justice in England and Wales, says that half of under-18s brought in front of the courts on charges of rioting and looting last month were completely unknown to the criminal justice system and only 10-15% of juvenile rioters had any sort of gang affiliation.

The statistics on minors, who comprise 20% of all those convicted of riot offences, undermine claims from justice minister Kenneth Clarke that the riots were caused by a hardcore criminal underclass.

Campaigners have warned the sudden rise in the number of children in jail was a possible breach of the UK's commitment to protect children's rights. Article 37 in the UN convention states that custody should only be used "as a last resort".

Andrew Neilson, assistant director at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "We were very concerned that there was a rush to custody. Normally young people would be recognised as vulnerable and different and that would be reflected... and that wasn't happening. It's been a one-size-fits-all approach.

"Pushing someone from no contact at all to a youth offending institute, which is the deep end is a very risky thing [and]... this is one of the most disproportionate impacts of the riot sentencing"

"The overuse of remand and some of the sentencing certainly puts in doubt the government's claims that child custody is used as a last resort."

John Drew, the chief executive of the YJB, said there was a crisis in young offenders' institutions (YOIs) because of the sudden spike in the prison population. Offenders, especially in London, have had to share cells or have been moved to prisons hundreds of miles away from home.

He said one of the YJB's biggest concerns was the threat of violence against naive entrants to the prison system. Therefore, all those on riot sentences have been categorised as vulnerable, a measure normally reserved for a small minority."

Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich Agree With ACLU on Something: Criminal Justice Needs a Tweak - Broward/Palm Beach News - The Daily Pulp

2011-09-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich Agree With ACLU on Something: Criminal Justice Needs a Tweak - Broward/Palm Beach News - The Daily Pulp

"Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the latest to sign GOP group Right on Crime's Statement of Principles. It's being framed as a conservative approach to reforming the criminal justice system.

Other conservative backers include Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, and Tony Perkins (president of the anti-gay, anti-choice Family Research Council).

The Texas Public Policy Foundation initiated the Right on Crime campaign. It's based on reforms implemented in Texas that the group claims have reduced crime by 9 percent while saving taxpayers more than $2 billion.

According to the statement, Right on Crime supports "constitutionally limited government, transparency, individual liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise." The goal of the campaign is to "produce the best possible results at the lowest possible costs" while treating crime victims as "'consumers' of the criminal justice system."

All pretty much in line with core conservative principles, right? Read on.The statement is critical of the criminal justice system's overreliance on prisons, which the statement says will in some cases have "the unintended consequence of hardening non-violent, low-risk offenders." Like drug users?

The American Civil Liberties Union -- a cherished whipping boy for right-wing pundits -- agrees with them.

"The authors of Right on Crime may come to their recommendations from a different place from the ACLU," says Baylor Johnson, an ACLU of Florida spokesperson. "[But] the conclusions they draw are very much in line with reforms for which the ACLU has been advocating for years."

A recent ACLU report says the war on drugs has caused the United States to have the world's highest incarceration rate at an astronomical cost. The report suggests that several states known to be "tough on crime" have moved to decriminalize nonviolent drug offenders, a move that has saved them loads of money.

Both groups want to do away with mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. Rick Scott too."

UK riots: Police chief blames soft sentencing - mirror.co.uk

2011-09-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

UK riots: Police chief blames soft sentencing - mirror.co.uk

"BRITAIN’S top police chief yesterday blamed soft sentencing and sky-high reoffending rates for last month’s riots.

Tim Godwin, acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner, demanded that “courts prove crime has a consequence”.

He spoke as it was revealed 75% of those arrested in the riots had a criminal record, with 21% under 18 years old.

Mr Godwin told a Commons committee: “This is a wake-up call for the criminal justice system.

“We have been seeking to make justice more relevant – something we need to do. The amount of people with previous convictions poses questions.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson also demanded harsher sentencing, saying: “What was the key factor likely to make you riot? It was that you had a criminal record.”

The attacks came after Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said rioters came from a “feral underclass… from a broken penal system”, but rejected tougher sentences."

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/09/07/uk-riots-police-chief-blames-soft-sentencing-

Nation's Jails Struggle With Mentally Ill Prisoners | AHN

2011-09-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Nation's Jails Struggle With Mentally Ill Prisoners AHN

"Three hundred and fifty thousand: That's a conservative estimate for the number of offenders with mental illness confined in America's prisons and jails.

More Americans receive mental health treatment in prisons and jails than in hospitals or treatment centers. In fact, the three largest inpatient psychiatric facilities in the country are jails: Los Angeles County Jail, Rikers Island Jail in New York City and Cook County Jail in Illinois.

"We have a criminal justice system which has a very clear purpose: You get arrested. We want justice. We try you, and justice hopefully prevails. It was never built to handle people that were very, very ill, at least with mental illness," Judge Steve Leifman tells Laura Sullivan, guest host of weekends on All Things Considered.

When the government began closing state-run hospitals in the'80s, people with mental illness had nowhere to turn; many ended up in jail. Leifman saw the problem first-hand decades ago in the courtroom. When individuals suffering from mental illness came before him accused of petty crimes, he didn't have many options.

"What we used to do, which I tell people was the definition of insanity [...] was they would commit an offense, the police would arrest them, they'd come to court, they'd be acting out so we would order two or three psychological evaluations at great expense, we would determine that they were incompetent to stand trial and we'd re-release them back to the community and kind of held our breath and crossed our fingers and hoped that somehow they'd get better and come back and we could try them," he says.

Instead, many disappeared and got re-arrested. Sometimes within minutes.

"They'd walk out the door, they were ill, they'd act out, because [the jail] is next to the courthouse there are several officers out there, and they'd get re-arrested," he says.

Not only was the system inefficient, it was costly as well. When Leifman asked the University of South Florida to look at who the highest users of criminal justice and mental health services in Miami-Dade County, researchers found the prime users were 97 people, individuals diagnosed primarily with schizophrenia.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90059074?Nation%27s%20Jails%20Struggle%20With%20Mentally%20Ill%20Prisoners#ixzz1XBijfAne

The Towerlight » Forensic accreditation offered at undergraduate and graduate levels

2011-09-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

The Towerlight » Forensic accreditation offered at undergraduate and graduate levels

"When forensic science comes to mind, some people envision television shows like CSI and Dexter, but for Towson students, there’s an opportunity for students to experience it firsthand.

The Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics,home to both the undergraduate and
graduate programs accredited by the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission, provides several training opportunities for hands-on experience.

“Both Towson’s undergrad and graduate programs have FEPAC accreditation,” Mark Profili, director of the forensic science program, said. “We are one of only four schools that have both their undergrad and graduate programs accredited.”

Protocol for accreditation involves meeting several standards and requirements for faculty, assessments, University support, program director and application acceptance process. A working relationship with a laboratory is necessary, too. All of these must be met to maintain accreditation, according to Profili.

Towson’s undergraduate curriculum provides training in one of three specific tracks- general forensics, forensic DNA and forensic trace evidence/toxicology track. Within these programs, training includes experience with pipe bombs, chemical make-up of ammonium bombs and the use of McCormick spices for finger printing, a method developed by students in the program. Distinctive topics such as death analysis and advanced DNA technologies are also incorporated.

“Students are taught the background science necessary to understand the field wherever the technology takes it and students get hands on experience with state of the art equipment and protocols that are used in the field today,” Forensic Science Professor Cynthia Zeller said.“It is the perfect combination of basic and applied science.”

Students may decide to pursue a master’s degree in forensic science, where the focus is primarily in the study of DNA."

Banning Kids From Streets May Make Us Less Safe: Mike Males - Bloomberg

2011-09-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Banning Kids From Streets May Make Us Less Safe: Mike Males - Bloomberg

"In the wake of flash-mob riots in several cities, fears of gang violence and age-old anxiety about kids on the streets, authorities in Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities are adopting or beefing up curfews that ban youths from being in public during school hours and at night.

Juvenile curfews are unique to the U.S. No other country, including those in Latin America and Asia or even the U.K. during recent riots in London, invokes such measures except during national emergencies -- and then they apply to all ages.

Although America’s best measure of crime, the National Crime Victimization Survey, finds violence by juveniles has plummeted to a record low and Federal Bureau of Investigation reports also show youth arrests for violent crimes at a nadir, officials and news outlets seem eager to postulate a crisis. For example, news reports have depicted murders of school-aged youths in Chicago as an alarming new trend even though coroners’ records show today’s urban youths, including Chicago’s, are safer from homicide than at any time in at least 40 years.

Similarly, the notion that mass curfews and crackdowns have become necessary because of violence enabled by social media is dubious. In reality, only the term “flash mob” is new. The 1965 Watts riot in Los Angeles began within 20 minutes of its instigating incident as a few onlookers quickly grew to a mob of hundreds, then thousands. “Youth in Danger,” a 1956 report by congressional investigators, cited numerous mob incidents, including ones in Philadelphia identical to those now labeled as flash mobs. The social media of the time were talking and telephones.
Rare Exception

Few studies find curfews effective. One exception, a widely cited analysis by Patrick Kline, a University of California, Berkeley, economist, found small reductions in crime among younger teens. Unfortunately, this study only included cities that implemented curfews and failed to account for national trends showing much larger crime declines among younger teens than among those older teens subject to curfews, including in cities without curfews.

For example, both property and violent crime rates fell steeply in the 1990s and 2000s among youths in San Francisco, which didn’t have a curfew. A “systematic review of empirical research on juvenile curfews” in city after city by Kenneth Adams, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis associate professor, found “the evidence does not support the argument that curfews prevent crime and victimization.” Likewise, a study by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice found that during the 1990s and 2000s, juvenile crime and crime in general fell faster in California cities that didn’t enforce youth curfews than in those that did."

Alberta to scrap restorative justice grant

2011-08-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Alberta to scrap restorative justice grant

"EDMONTON - A provincial grant program that has helped bring together criminal offenders and their victims to discuss the effects of crime is slated to be cut next year.

The Solicitor General and Public Security department on Monday confirmed its annual $351,000 grant for restorative justice programs will be axed in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The program has been in place since 2004 and is part of the department’s $678-million overall budget.

The grant money has funded almost a dozen organizations in the province annually. The organizations have worked to bring together a variety of offenders — including convicted killers and teenagers who have committed break-and-enters — with their victims. Some organizations also apply the techniques to non-criminal conflicts, such as schoolyard disputes.

The general goal is to have both sides meet, discuss the effects of a crime, and agree on what might repair the harm caused by the commission of an offence.

The decision to cut the grant program was made in “challenging economic times,” said Patrick Mears, a spokesman for the solicitor general’s department. It does not appear that other programs are slated to be cut from the department’s next budget, he said.

Those who work in restorative justice say their programs benefit offenders, victims, and the larger community.

For victims of crime, the meetings “help answer the question of ‘Why me?’” said Jan Moran, co-ordinator for the Alberta Restorative Justice Association. For offenders, the benefit comes in seeing the true effects of their crimes and recognizing what they must change to avoid reoffending.

“I believe it’s such a good program for crime prevention,” Moran said. “It’s going to be one less option for people to have.”

Moran said her organization, an umbrella group for 34 agencies, is scheduled to meet with the solicitor general’s department next month. She was surprised by the decision to cut the grant program and thought the programs had solid support from the government.

“We thought were starting a bit of a groundswell and now we’re back at the stream,” she said.

Funding from the department has been critical for smaller organizations to run their restorative justice programs, while bigger organizations might be able to make up for the lack of grant money in other areas, Moran said."