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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