Jan. 31, 2011 Today's Stories -- WI Laywers Convicted of Crimes Often Retain Law Licenses -- New York Moves to Deny Pensions to Crooked Public Officials -- Are Police, Fire Pension Reform Next on NJ Gov.'s Agenda? -- Funding Withers as Rx Drug Deaths Surge in Kentucky -- Brown Proposes Shifting CA Juvenile Justice to County Control -- A Crime Sign of the Times: Increase in Vending Machine Thefts -- As Justice Ramps Up Police Probes, Magazine Sees Liberal Bias -- FBI Disciplinary Files Offer Look at Agency's Misconduct Cases -- St. Pete Times Calls on Conservatives to 'Rehabilitate' FL Prisons -- Conservative-Backed Sentencing Reform Spreads to More States -- Cuomo Retreats on Plan to Close Underused State Prisons -- Justice Department Launches Science Advisory Board You may go to TheCrimeReport.org to search all archived CJN stories. Please e-mail Ted Gest at CJJ with concerns about the editorial content of our news items, to suggest news stories, or with general comments. |
WI Laywers Convicted of Crimes Often Retain Law Licenses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least 135 attorneys with criminal convictions are practicing law today in Wisconsin, including some who kept their licenses while serving time and others who got them back before they were off probation, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The roster includes lawyers with felony or misdemeanor convictions for fraud, theft, battery and repeat drunken driving, as well as offenses involving political corruption, drugs and sex. Another 70 lawyers were charged with crimes but succeeded in having the charges reduced or avoided conviction by completing a deferred prosecution plan. All were given the green light to practice law. The newspaper's review, which ran nearly 24,000 Wisconsin lawyers against state and federal court records, found that lawyers who are convicted of crimes are then subjected to a slow-moving disciplinary system that operates largely behind closed doors. Unlike many other states, where the licenses of lawyers convicted of serious crimes such as fraud are immediately suspended to give regulators time to determine the proper sanction, Wisconsin sometimes allows criminals to keep their law licenses even while they are behind bars. |
New York Moves to Deny Pensions to Crooked Public Officials ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York officials will press the Legislature to deny pensions to public servants convicted who commit a felony related to the performance of their duties, reports the Albany Times-Union. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced a program bill that would make that change and increase penalties for officials who violate the public trust. The pension-stripping provision would only affect future officials. Former Comptroller Alan Hevesi is one of several elected officials who continue to receive pensions for their public career despite felony convictions. He collects more than $100,000 annually. Former state Sen. Guy Velella, who died earlier this week, was receiving more than $75,000. Former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, who is appealing two felony convictions, gets more than $96,000. Steven Raucci, the Schenectady schools manager convicted of arson and sentenced to 23 years to life in prison, receives almost $80,000 in pension benefits. |
Are Police, Fire Pension Reform Next on NJ Gov.'s Agenda? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Having taken on the state teachers union, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may be ready to put the squeeze on another once-sacred employee base - the police and fire unions, says the Asbury Park Press. One goal may be the revamping of police unions' arbitration processes and reforming the state's pension system with such changes as making police and fire employees put in more years of service to receive full pension benefits. While most aren't expecting a battle with police unions to play out as viciously as the past year's with teachers, analysts and police union officials alike agree police and fire will share at least a portion of the governor's chopping block this year. Although embattled by sweeping layoffs, police union leaders said they are watching the governor and are ready to stand up for themselves. Last year, Christie proposed sweeping pension reform changes and made it clear in his recent State of the State address he would follow through on the initiative. |
Funding Withers as Rx Drug Deaths Surge in Kentucky ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prescription drug abuse is killing Kentuckians at record levels, with deaths more than doubling in the past decade to nearly 1,000 a year, surpassing even traffic fatalities, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. But even as the state's prescription-drug problem increases, the money to fight the problem is drying up, with budgets for key agencies and programs that work to prevent, control and treat drug abuse being cut by millions of dollars. The Office of Drug Control Policy, a state agency that coordinates much of Kentucky's fight against drugs, saw its state funding drop from $8.6 million in 2008 to $6.5 million in 2010, forcing its staff to shrink from 10 to four employees. Kentucky's family and juvenile drug courts - created to help new addicts stay out of prison and mend their families - were eliminated as of Jan. 1 to save the state budget $1.5 million a year. Operation UNITE, a nonprofit agency that U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers formed to fight chronic drug abuse plaguing his 29-county 5th District in Eastern Kentucky, saw its budget slashed from $10.3 million in 2007-08 to $4.6 million the following year. |
Brown Proposes Shifting CA Juvenile Justice to County Control ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California may finally be ready to get out of the business of juvenile corrections, reports the Sacramento Bee. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate the state Division of Juvenile Justice and give counties responsibility for the state's worst young offenders over the next three years. High costs, poor treatment and other shortcomings have made the agency a target of critics. The juvenile justice transfer would complete a process that started in 2007 of giving counties responsibility for juvenile corrections. Previously, the state incarcerated about 10,000 juveniles. Now the state has about one-tenth that number of young offenders in custody. They represent the most serious cases murderers, robbers and sex offenders among them. The Little Hoover Commission, a state agency charged with ferreting out inefficiency in government, called for the elimination of the Division of Juvenile Justice two years ago. Under Brown's proposal, counties would receive the same amount of money per offender as the state spends now. |
A Crime Sign of the Times: Increase in Vending Machine Thefts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tough economic times have spurred a rash of vending-machine thefts, prompting operators to fight back with sales-tracking devices and automated text-message alerts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Theft rings have sprung up in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and New York, among other states. More schools, hospitals and other big vending customers are complaining of such break-ins, especially with outdoor vending machines, according to loss consultants and machine operators. While no one closely tracks the exact number of such thefts, these experts report a proliferation of websites and YouTube videos with instructions on how to break into the machines. "My sense is that theft is on the rise as there are so many people in desperate times," said Mark Manney, chief executive of Loss Prevention Results Inc. The industry already is struggling. U.S. sales fell 10% in 2009 to $19.85 billion, the latest data available, from $22.05 billion the year before. With profit margins as thin as 1%, losses from theft have an impact. Police rarely get involved, operators say, because each theft seldom amounts to much money. Sometimes operators call the police but they usually arrive too late. |
As Justice Ramps Up Police Probes, Magazine Sees Liberal Bias ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Justice Department appears to be ramping up its investigations of police departments, having hired nine additional attorneys to beef up the search for alleged police agency racism and to sue agencies that don't capitulate to federal demands, reports the Weekly Standard. The magazine cites Justice's oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department as a "disturbing harbinger" for other police agencies. It presents the issue as a conservative-vs.-liberal ideological battle by overaggressive Justice investigators. The magazine says "it is a given to the Justice Department staff that the LAPD, like every other police department, routinely violates people's rights. The possibility that the vast majority of Los Angeles officers are operating within the law is simply not acceptable. Such a preordained conclusion is not surprising, since the career attorneys who investigate police departments for constitutional violations are possibly the most left-wing members of the standing federal bureaucracy. They know, without any felt need for prolonged exposure to police work, that contemporary policing is shot through with bias." |
FBI Disciplinary Files Offer Look at Agency's Misconduct Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CNN says confidential FBI documents give a look at the 300 disciplinary cases the agency deals with each year. For example, one employee shared confidential information with his girlfriend, who was a news reporter, then later threatened to release a sex tape the two had made. A supervisor watched pornographic videos in his office during work hours while "satisfying himself." And an employee in a "leadership position" misused a government database to check on two friends who were exotic dancers and allowed them into an FBI office after hours. The reports, compiled by the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility, are e-mailed quarterly to FBI employees, but are not released to the public. The agency, with 34,300 workers--including 13,700 agents-- says it fires about 30 employees each year. "We do have a no-tolerance policy," FBI Assistant Director Candice Will told CNN. "We don't tolerate our employees engaging in misconduct. We expect them to behave pursuant to the standards of conduct imposed on all FBI employees." |
St. Pete Times Calls on Conservatives to 'Rehabilitate' FL Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is time for Florida's Republican-led Legislature to "rehabilitate" the state's costly criminal justice system, the St. Petersburg Times says in an editorial. Experts say diversion programs, drug treatment and flexible sentencing reforms are the best ways to pare back the Department of Corrections' $2.4 billion budget. The paper says, "The need for reform is real. Florida's decades of get-tough-on-crime policies - including minimum mandatory sentences and three strikes you're out - have swollen the state's prison population to more than 100,000 and shortchanged rehabilitation in the process. The bottom line delivered to lawmakers this week: The only way to save significant money is to keep people out of prison or move them out sooner." Conservatives have resisted "liberal" prison reform. But they are being told from various quarters, including Florida TaxWatch, the state's business-backed fiscal watchdog group, that changes must be made. One of TaxWatch's most significant recommendations is to add flexibility to the current rule that requires inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. This alone could save the state up to $53 million annually. The paper says, "Clearly, the best way to save hundreds of millions of dollars in prison costs is to adopt policies that invest in turning low-level offenders into productive citizens. If there is one positive that could come out of the state's fiscal crisis, it's a more rational and fiscal conservative criminal justice policy." |
Conservative-Backed Sentencing Reform Spreads to More States ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Louisiana and Indiana are among new states considering conservative-backed sentencing reform, says the Los Angeles Times. The package can include reduced sentences for drug crimes, more job training and rehabilitation programs for nonviolent offenders, and expanded alternatives to doing hard time. The trend started a few years ago in Republican-dominated Texas, where prison population growth has slowed and crime is down. South Carolina adopted a similar reform package last year. A conservative group has identified 21 states engaged in some aspect of what it considers to be reform, including California. Corrections is the second-fastest growing spending category for states, behind Medicaid, costing $50 billion annually and accounting for 1 of every 14 discretionary dollars, says the Pew Center on the States. The crisis affects both parties, and Democratic leaders also are looking for ways to reduce prison populations. Conservatives have been working most conspicuously to square their new strategies with their philosophical beliefs - and sell them to followers long accustomed to a lock-'em-up message. Much of that work is being done by a new advocacy group called Right on Crime, which has been endorsed by conservative luminaries such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.former Education Secretary William Bennett, and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. |
Cuomo Retreats on Plan to Close Underused State Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the state legislature that underused prisons would no longer be "an employment program" for upstate New York. Now, the New York Times reports, the governor may be scaling back on his plans to close or consolidate at least 10 adult and youth prisons and other facilities. Senate Republicans are trying to fend off the loss of hundreds of state jobs in some of their upstate districts. The New York Post reported that as few as six prisons would be closed, three of them in New York City, including two that house work-release programs. If the new strategy holds, it would sharply curtail Cuomo's ambition and could ultimately even increase the proportion of prisoners sent upstate. |
Justice Department Launches Science Advisory Board ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new Science Advisory Board has started work at the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs, which provides billions of dollars in anticrime aid to states ad localities. The board will provide advice on how to make programs conform to scientific principles. Attorney General Eric Holder addressed its first meeting last Friday. The 15-member panel is chaired by criminologist Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University In opening remarks to the panel, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson asked members to "look at the broad role of science" within the agency and recommend "how we can better integrate what we learn from science into our programmatic design and spending." The mandate includes not only the agency's grant making but also the research arm, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Robinson also called for suggestions on broad priorities on which research might be focused, and institutional ways to protect the role of science at the agency in the future. She noted that the parent Justice Department "is a lawyer culture and we know from history that it can be hostile to science." |
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Monday, January 31, 2011
Articles for 31 January 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Articles for 28 January 2011
January 28, 2011 Today's Stories -- Obama: Focus On Demand For Drugs, Not Arrests, Incarceration -- Do Fewer Arrests Always Mean Lower Justice-System Costs? -- Holder Talks To Federal Violence Against Women Advisory Panel -- Moore Choice As San Jose Chief Called "Victory For Common Sense" -- L.A. Calls Officer's Report Of School Shooting A Hoax -- Newark Jail Expansion Could Be Model For Immigrant Detention -- PA Auditor Urges Adoption Of Plan To Cut Prison Population -- Providence Official Says Police Chief Esserman's Salary, Benefits Are Too High -- How Minneapolis Cuts Crime With "Predictive Policing" -- Should St. Pete Cops Have Pursued Fugitive In Attic? -- Renew U.S. Limits On High-Capacity Ammo Magazines: Washington Post -- A New Website For The Crime Report You may go to TheCrimeReport.org to search all archived CJN stories. Please e-mail Ted Gest at CJJ with concerns about the editorial content of our news items, to suggest news stories, or with general comments. |
Obama: Focus On Demand For Drugs, Not Arrests, Incarceration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In his second sit-down with YouTube, President Obama again learned that the most popular questions as voted on by users of the online video hub were about the legalization of marijuana, says the Los Angeles Times. "This is an entirely legitimate topic for debate," Obama said after chuckling about the subject matter coming up again. "I am not in favor of legalization," said Obama, who believes Americans should look at drugs more as a public health problem than a legal issue. "When you think about other damaging activities in our society -- smoking, drunk driving, making sure you're wearing seat belts -- you know, typically we've made huge strides over the last 20, 30 years by changing people's attitudes. On drugs, I think that a lot of times we have been so focused on arrests, incarceration, interdiction that we don't spend as much time thinking about how do we shrink demand." |
Do Fewer Arrests Always Mean Lower Justice-System Costs? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A commissioner's suggestion that cash-strapped Hamilton County, In., should save money by arresting fewer people is raising concerns from area law enforcement officials and citizens, reports the Indianapolis Star. Commissioner Steve Dillinger said that the county sheriff and other local police agencies will be encouraged to issue summonses whenever possible to cut down on the cost of incarcerating suspects. People accused of violent crimes or suspected of driving while drunk would still be arrested and taken to jail, he said. "We want officers to use discretion," he said. "If they're not a risk to society or a flight risk, give them a summons. Once you take them to jail, all of these different cost mechanisms kick in, and it gets a lot more expensive." Some area law enforcement officials worry that such a policy could hurt efforts to keep the peace. Newly elected Sheriff Mark Bowen worries that Dillinger's desire to jail fewer people would hamper deputies' ability to do their jobs. Bowen disputed Dillinger's assertion that keeping arrests low would save money, saying most suspects are able to bond out of jail in a short amount of time. Hamilton County spends about $32 million a year in criminal-justice costs, including about $146,000 in inmate health care, Dillinger said. |
Holder Talks To Federal Violence Against Women Advisory Panel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Justice Department has "re-chartered" its National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. Today, Attorney General Eric Holder and Susan Carbon, director of the department's Office on Violence Against Women, spoke to the 15-member group. "We are committed to engaging a broad spectrum of community partners to help stem teen dating violence and safeguard our children," Holder said. Committee members are Prof. Jeffrey Edelson of the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Maria Jose Fletcher of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Neil Irvin of Men Can Stop Rape, Amber Johnson, a youth advocate from Providence, R.I., Monika Johnson Hostler of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Debbie Lee of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Police Chief Susan Manheimer of San Mateo, Ca., Betsy McAlister Groves of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, Carol Post of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Francine Sherman of Boston College Law School, Judge Melvin Stoof of Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court, Tucson, Joe Torre of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, Jerry Tello of Sacred Circles National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute, Gabrielle Union of Beverly Hills, Ca., and Sujata Warrier of the New York City Program of the New York Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. |
Moore Choice As San Jose Chief Called "Victory For Common Sense" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The selection of Chris Moore as San Jose's new police chief represented a victory for common sense, says San Jose Mercury News columnist Scott Herhold. City Manager Debra Figone put enormous effort into a process that produced two finalists: the 49-year-old Moore, who has been acting chief since Rob Davis left in October; and Anthony Batts, the 50-year-old police chief of Oakland. Moore was the safer choice, the known quantity, a man who enjoys a reputation for intelligence and the respect of the rank and file. In coming from behind to win the appointment, he's shown political savvy and a sensitivity to ethnic groups that distrust cops, says Herhold. Maybe most importantly, Moore will stay at least four years, bound to be a crucial time for a department that will most likely have to endure painful downsizing. In Moore, the city has a new chief with a law degree, a background in technology and -- perhaps most crucial for a department facing public skepticism -- a willingness to change after listening to a reasoned critique. |
L.A. Calls Officer's Report Of School Shooting A Hoax ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Los Angeles school police officer who said he was shot by an attacker last week, prompting a manhunt that shut down a large area,, has been arrested on suspicion of concocting the story, the Los Angeles Times reports. The startling revelation came at a hastily called news conference by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, who said detectives became suspicious about the officer's story as they investigated the case Beck declined to elaborate on the arrest of officer Jeff Stenroos. The head of the Los Angeles Police Protective League called an "embarrassment to law enforcement." Police had said Stenroos was shot in the chest Jan. 19 after he confronted a man who was attempting to break into vehicles near the eastern boundary of a high school campus. The incident sparked a massive police response that inconvenienced thousands of people as officers blocked roads, locked down schools, and refused to let people in or out of a 7-square-mile area. |
Newark Jail Expansion Could Be Model For Immigrant Detention ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It promises to be a potential moneymaker in struggling Newark: a proposed upgrading and extension of the Essex County, N.J., jail so it would hold hundreds more immigrants than it does now, the New York Times reports. For the Obama administration, the plan offers the possibility of being one of the first publicly visible results of its strategy to overhaul the way the government detains immigrants accused of violating the law. Federal officials say the proposal, which they have tentatively approved, would provide a less penal setting for detainees, with improved medical care, amenities, and federal oversight - the template for a new kind of detention center they intend to create around the U.S. by renovating existing centers, building new ones, and closing others. As the government has locked up a growing number of immigrants, it has patched together a loose network of county jails and private detention centers, some of which have come under fire for abuse, substandard living conditions, and detainee deaths. Federal officials have signaled their intent to expand or build centers in or near Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco. |
PA Auditor Urges Adoption Of Plan To Cut Prison Population ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Pennsylvania's prison costs continuing to rise, state Auditor General Jack Wagner urged the legislature to approve a Republican senator's bill that would make it easier to send non-violent offenders to alternative-sentencing programs, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Wagner issued a report on the 500 percent growth in Pennsylvania's prison population from 8,243 in 1980 to 51,487 in 2010. In 2009, Pennsylvania had the highest number of new inmates -- 2,122 -- of any state. The cost per inmate nearly tripled from $11,477 in 1980 to $32,059 in 2009, Wagner said. The overall cost to taxpayers increased during the past 10 years from $1.17 billion to $1.6 billion, a 37 percent increase. As the state faces a $4 billion to $5 billion budget deficit, it's imperative that lawmakers consider reductions in Department of Corrections spending, which historically has been sacrosanct, Wagner said. The proposed Criminal Justice Reform Act allows the state to more quickly move non-violent offenders with short sentences to community corrections centers such as halfway houses. More non-violent offenders would be eligible for the centers and the state's boot camp |
Providence Official Says Police Chief Esserman's Salary, Benefits Are Too High ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The chairman of the Providence, R.I., City Council Finance Committee, John Igliozzi, wants to cut Police Chief Dean Esserman's salary and benefits, reports the Providence Journal. Igliozzi says Esserman should not be paid more than his new boss, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare. A $150,000 salary is proposed for Pare; Esserman is paid $168,000. The chief took over a department that was marred with scandal. Esserman has been praised for cleaning up the department, and major crime has decreased steadily. |
How Minneapolis Cuts Crime With "Predictive Policing" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In its own version of "predictive policing," Minneapolis police believe that everyone, even criminals, are creatures of habit, says the Minneapolis Star Tribune. With enough information about past crimes, it's possible to forecast their future target. "We usually look at the last week and say, 'This is what happened in the last week,'" said Police Chief Tim Dolan. "Well we've added to that, saying, 'This is what we think's going to happen next week.'" Dolan says analying crime statistics to discern trends already has paid off in two areas that led the city last year in reducing overall crime rates. The strategy looks slightly different everywhere it's used, but predictive policing relies mainly on a police department's ability to accumulate deep databases of crime information that detail time, location, methods, and numerous other bits of revealing data. Crunched by a computer analyst, the numbers reveal patterns. |
Should St. Pete Cops Have Pursued Fugitive In Attic? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A fugitive with a violent history is holed up in an attic with a gun. What's the next step for law enforcement, asks the St. Petersburg Times. Monday in St. Petersburg, the decision was made to go after the guy. In what police Chief Chuck Harmon called an ambush, two police officers were killed and a deputy U.S. marshal wounded. As the community grieves, many are asking difficult and sensitive questions about the tragedy - questions echoed by veteran police officers and tactical experts: Why didn't officers call in the SWAT team and a negotiator and wait? The decision to go into the attic was a brave one, but was it the best one? "I would have backed out, sealed it up, nobody in, nobody out, and notified the SWAT team," said Jon Shane, a former supervisor on the Newark, N.J., police SWAT team. St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt dismissed outside criticism. "I think it's very misleading for so-called experts to render an opinion without specific knowledge of the facts in this situation," he said. |
Renew U.S. Limits On High-Capacity Ammo Magazines: Washington Post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The federal ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004 appears to have worked to limit the proliferation of high-capacity magazines, the Washington Post says in an editorial, noting that the use of such magazines in crimes rose dramatically after the ban was "irresponsibly" allowed to lapse. Jared Loughner is alleged to have used such a magazine to fire some 31 rounds in a matter of seconds in Tucson, killing 6 and wounding 13 others. The Post reported that in Virginia, 15,000 guns equipped with magazines with 11 bullets or more - the federal definition of high-capacity - have been seized by police since 1993; some 2,000 of these weapons were equipped with clips that held 30 or more bullets. The number of high-capacity magazines confiscated by Virginia law enforcement officers dropped after the ban's enactment - an indication that fewer of these weapons were in circulation. Congress should not wait for another Tucson-like tragedy to resurrect this common-sense law, the Post says. |
A New Website For The Crime Report ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two years after The Crime Report was launched, we have redesigned the website. You can see it starting today at http://thecrimereport.org It includes the same basic features, including a searchable archive of more than 20,000 crime and justice news digests dating from 2003, as well as Inside Criminal Justice stories and blogs. Please take a look at the site and feel free to make any suggestions. To remind all readers, Crime and Justice News is posted on this site before it is sent out by e-mail, and we update the site daily with other features, such as "New and Notable" reports and studies. We hope that you visit the site often and find it informative.. |
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Articles for January 27th
January 27, 2011 Today's Stories -- Potential Budget Cuts Include Shorter U.S. Prison Terms -- Small Fraction Of Sex-Behind-Bars Cases Substantiated -- Obama To Address Volatile Gun Issue; Plans Unknown -- Missouri, Pennsylvania Lead In Black Homicide Rate -- Why Is Arizona Such A Deadly Gun-Violence State? -- Before Rampage, Loughner Studied Assassinations -- Colleges Boost Mental Health Counseling After Tucson -- CA Lawmakers Focus On $1.5 Billion Inmate Health Costs -- MO Judge: Paying High Elderly Inmate Health Costs Not Rational -- Color-Coded Terror Alerts Will Be Gone Within 3 Months -- Grassley Decries Light Federal Sentences In Fraud Cases -- Cop Shooting Deaths Not A War With Criminals: Officer You may go to TheCrimeReport.org to search all archived CJN stories. Please e-mail Ted Gest at CJJ with concerns about the editorial content of our news items, to suggest news stories, or with general comments. |
Potential Budget Cuts Include Shorter U.S. Prison Terms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the federal government faces big budget cuts, Justice Department officials are considering whether to shorten some federal prison terms and have shut down a program that successfully encouraged fugitive criminals to turn themselves in, reports the Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday, President Obama called for a five-year freeze on non-security, discretionary government spending. Some existing programs will have to go. Office of Management and Budget proposals for the Justice Department include increasing the amount of time deducted from prison terms for good behavior, which would qualify 4,000 convicts for release now, and another 4,000 over the next 10 years, eliminating the FBI National Gang Intelligence Center, for a savings of $8 million in the next budget year, sharing fewer proceeds from property confiscated from criminals with state and local authorities, and eliminating other funding to local police departments for some operations. The change would reduce spending by $120 million. The U.S. Marshals Service has shelved the Fugitive Safe Surrender Program, which has cleared the books on thousands of low-level criminal cases in the past six years. Law enforcement officials urged fugitives to turn themselves in to resolve old warrants and often drew hundreds in a single day. |
Small Fraction Of Sex-Behind-Bars Cases Substantiated ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fewer than 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse in jails, prisons, and other correctional facilities were substantiated in 2007 and 2008 among an estimated total of 400,000 such incidents in those years, say two Justice Department reports issued this week. The estimate of 200,000 allegations of sexal abuse annually was included in a Justice Department proposal on national rules under the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Detailed figures on how actual cases were handled were in a report yesterday from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. Federal, state and local correctional authorities reported an estimated 7,374 allegations of sexual victimization involving incarcerated men and women in 2007 and 7,444 in 2008, BJS said. More than half (993) of all substantiated incidents were perpetrated by another inmate. More than fifty percent of these incidents (503) involved nonconsensual sexual acts. Among all substantiated incidents of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization, 69 percent involved force or threat force, offers of protection or favors, bribery, blackmail or other type of pressure. |
Obama To Address Volatile Gun Issue; Plans Unknown ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After criticism that President Obama dodged the gun issue in his State of the Union address, the White House says the president would address the issue soon, the Washington Post reports. As president, Obama has never delivered substantive remarks on gun policy, one of the most volatile and divisive domestic issues, out of fear of roiling swing voters. After 19 people were shot in Tucson on Jan. 8, gun-control groups and some lawmakers urged him to discuss guns. Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence assailed Obama for beginning the State of the Union adderss by talking about the dreams of a 9-year-old girl slain in Tucson "without talking about the gun violence that destroyed those dreams." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who runs a gun-control group, said Obama "missed an opportunity to bring the country together on an issue that has support among the vast majority of Americans: fixing the nation's broken background-check system that is designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people." The National Rifle Association opposes the measures in Obama's 2008 platform, including reinstating the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, as well as other proposals since Tucson. The NRA's Wayne LaPierre told members that, "Once again, you and your freedoms are being blamed for the acts of a deranged madman, who sent signal after signal that he was dangerous." |
Missouri, Pennsylvania Lead In Black Homicide Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rate of black homicides in Missouri is again the nation's highest, says an annual study from the Violence Policy Center reported by the Kansas City Star. It's the second time in four years that Missouri has topped the study. Missouri's black homicide rate was 39.90 per 100,000 people in 2008; Pennsylvania, which topped the list the last two years, was second with a rate of 31.05 per 100,000. Missouri also topped the list in 2008, when study authors used data from 2005. Kansas City recorded its largest number of homicides of the decade in 2005 with127. The overall homicide rate for all races and all locations is 4.93 per 100,000, the study said. "It's frightening," said Alvin Brooks, Kansas City anti-crime activist and founder of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime. Besides Missouri and Pennsylvania, the other states in the top five in this year's study were Indiana, Michigan and Tennessee. |
Why Is Arizona Such A Deadly Gun-Violence State? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From murders to suicides, Arizona is consistently among the most deadly states in the nation for gun violence, say federal records reported by the Arizona Republic. Over a nine-year span, the state's rate of gun deaths of all types ranked seventh in the United States and sixth for gun-involved slayings, finds an analysis of death reports compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rankings are based on data from 1999 to 2007, the most recent statistics available. The rate of deaths specifically tied to guns surprises national experts. Crime-victimization patterns that measure factors such as age and racial demographics suggest that Arizona would figure to be among the states with a lower risk for violent crime. "That's much higher than I would expect the state to be," said Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California-Berkeley who studies demographic factors in crime. "The demographic-risk profile should keep Arizona lower. It's higher than expected. Now, the question is: Why?" |
Before Rampage, Loughner Studied Assassinations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before the Tucson shooting rampage, Jared Loughner surfed the Internet on his home computer in what investigators believe was preparation for his alleged assassination attempt, the Washington Post reports. His suspect's focus on Web sites covering lethal injection, solitary confinement, and political assassinations could have dramatic implications as prosecutors build a case against him on murder charges that could carry the death penalty. They hope to use the computer information, along with notes seized in Loughner's home, to show that his acts were premeditated and that he knew right from wrong, sources said. The computer analysis was turned over to Loughner's attorney Judy Clarke, who has not indicated whether she intends to pursue an insanity defense. Police seized Loughner's computer when they searched his family home in Tucson on Jan. 8 after the shooting outside a Safeway that killed six people and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). "The impression investigators have is that he was trying to educate himself on assassinations and also research the consequences," said one source. Legal experts say evidence from the computer hard drives would pose a significant hurdle in pursuing an insanity defense. |
Colleges Boost Mental Health Counseling After Tucson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ College mental health workers report greater concern about disruptive students since the mass shooting in Tucson, resulting in calls from faculty, requests for special training, and reassessments of campus procedures, reports USA Today. Faculty members are seeking advice on dealing with disruptive outbursts and intimidating behavior, says Brian Van Brunt, president of the American College Counseling Association. Jared Loughner, 22, who is accused of six killings on Jan. 8, was attending Pima Community College when he was banned from campus for outbursts that scared students and teachers. At Western Kentucky University, where Van Brunt is director of counseling, staffers "are looking at what would we do if we had a similar case," he says. His university has three or four students a year who exhibit a worrisome combination of self-isolation and simmering aggression, he says, and they're required to accept treatment on campus as a condition of staying in school. Several schools are expanding mental health services, says Brett Sokolow of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association. Many colleges added behavioral intervention teams after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, when Seung Hui Cho killed 33 people, including himself. Teams of counselors, teachers and campus police meet regularly to track complaints about disturbing behavior from instructors, dormitory workers, and others. The team assesses the threat and coordinates action. |
CA Lawmakers Focus On $1.5 Billion Inmate Health Costs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amid California's budget crisis, the receiver put in charge of the prison health system by a federal judge has spent $82 million on blueprints for medical facilities that have been largely scrapped, more than $50,000 a month on an architectural consultant, and millions hiring medical professionals - more per inmate than in many other states, says the Los Angeles Times. After four years of pouring money into the system, receiver J. Clark Kelso told legislators yesterday he didn't know when the federal oversight might stop and suggested early release of chronically sick inmates as one quick way to cut costs. Exasperated lawmakers, who pay the bills but have little say in how the funds are spent, questioned whether federal control is making prison health care better. "That's a source of great frustration," said Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review, who called on Kelso to account for $1.5 billion in budgeted spending for this year. "As we watch the numbers go up, we can't tell if we're any closer to hitting the mark." California's prison health system fell into receivership in 2006 after a court ruled the state had not done enough to improve conditions since a 2000 ruling said care behind bars amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. There were 48 "possibly preventable" deaths of prison patients in 2006 and 43 in 2009, Kelso says. He said the number dropped from 18 in 2006 to 3 in 2009. |
MO Judge: Paying High Elderly Inmate Health Costs Not Rational ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The number of older inmates in Missouri's prisons has nearly tripled over the past decade and stands at about 4,700, says the Columbia Missourian. The number is "expected to keep spiraling upward," said Missouri Department of Corrections official Deloise Williams. The cost of caring for them will strain an already strapped state budget. "We seem to be racking up some extraordinary costs for reasons that are not particularly rational," said Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff. "Some of these men are fairly disabled and probably not able to engage in criminal activity even if they are inclined to." On Jan. 1, the state's first geriatric wing, or "enhanced care unit," opened at the Jefferson City Correctional Center to help cope with the financial and logistical burden that comes with the aging population. Designed as a miniature nursing home within a prison, the 36-bed unit will be a place where old cons in wheelchairs, strapped to oxygen tanks or struggling with dementia will be segregated from the general population, where many are vulnerable to abuse. The Pew Center on the States says the average annual cost of caring for elderly inmates in a correctional setting is about $70,000 - two to three times that of their younger counterparts. Community nursing home placement costs taxpayers about $57,000 a year, much of which comes from Medicaid and Medicare. Other community-based options like electronic monitoring costs only about $3,600 a year. |
Color-Coded Terror Alerts Will Be Gone Within 3 Months ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The color-coded terrorism alert system that has greeted travelers at airports since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings will be phased out within 90 days, USA Today reports. Long a joke on talk shows, the color codes are being replaced by a system designed to give law enforcement and potential targets critical information without unnecessarily alarming or confusing the public. Among the changes: Passengers will no longer hear the public-service recordings at airports announcing the alert level. The aviation threat has been on orange, or "high" alert, since 2006. "The old color-coded system taught Americans to be scared, not prepared," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), highest-ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. "Each and every time the threat level was raised, very rarely did the public know the reason, how to proceed, or for how long to be on alert." Committee chairman Peter King (R-NY), said, "Though the system served a valuable purpose in the terrible days and months following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, it was clearly time for the current color-coded system to be replaced with a more targeted system." |
Grassley Decries Light Federal Sentences In Fraud Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, the new top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says it is "shocking" that in 15 insider trading cases in New York City's federal court, sentences imposed in 13 of them were lighter than those prescribed in the formerly mandatory federal sentencing guidelines. Speaking at a committee hearing yesterday on federal fraud cases, Grassley cited a recent analysis by Reuters of insider trading sentences. Nationwide, 42 percent of all federal sentences in these cases were below the guidelines. "Federal judges often seem not to understand the seriousness of these crimes," Grassley said. Now that the sentencing guidelines have been held to be merely advisory, Grassley said, "the disparity and unfairness in judicially imposed sentences that we sought to eliminate on a bipartisan basis are returning, especially in two areas: child pornography and fraud." He added that, "If potential fraudsters view the lenient sentences now being handed down as merely a cost of doing business, efforts to combat criminal fraud could be undermined." |
Cop Shooting Deaths Not A War With Criminals: Officer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The deaths by gunshot of at least 14 police officers this month doesn't mean there's a "war" between police and criminals, Sgt. Norman Jahn, a 20-year veteran of the Las Vegas Police Department, tells NPR. "The approach we have to take cannot be like the military," Jahn says. "We are civilian police," he says, noting that the situation in Las Vegas and other U.S. cities is far from what it is in parts of Mexico or Afghanistan. Jahn wrote to the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the newspaper ran a series on police training that played up the combat-like aspects of some of the exercises. "Civilian police officers must keep their focus on serving and protecting our communities and taking steps to maintain trust," he said. While he doesn't want to minimize the tragic losses that some police departments and families have suffered, Jahn says public perception of the police, and how they do their jobs, is crucial to that trust. As an example, Jahn notes that an officer who comes upon someone firing a weapon in public shouldn't think first about returning fire - but instead, they should do everything they can to ensure the safety of people in the area. |
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