Articles for 10 Feb 2011

House Republican Budget Cutters Target COPS, State-Local Justice Aid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If House Republicans have their way, major cuts in federal criminal justice programs could be in store during the current federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Among 70 proposed cuts announced yesterday by House Appropriations Committee leaders were $600 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, $256 million in state and local law enforcement assistance, $74 million for the FBI, $69 million for the White House drug czar's office, and $52 million for law enforcement wireless communications. This is just the start of a congressional process that includes committee and floor debate in both Houses and negotiations with the White House, but it signals potentially major reductions in federal programs. Some newly elected House Republicans want to make even deeper cuts House Appropriations Committee

Groups Present Nearly 100 "Smart On Crime" Recommendations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A coalition of 40 organizations and individuals today issued "Smart on Crime," nearly 100 policy recommendations for the Obama administration and Congress across 16 criminal justice areas. The volume touches on a wide range of issues, including "overcriminalization," forensic science, juvenile justice, the death penalty, indigent defense, and executive clemency. Virginia Sloan of The Constitution Project said the report, which focuses on federal government issues, embodies "an ever-increasing and bipartisan consensus on how to fix the problems that have for too long plagued the system." Speaking on federal overcriminalization, Norman Reimer of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said it "threatens every American's liberty and drains the public coffers with pointless prosecutions and unnecessary incarcerations. Among other groups supporting the project are the Innocence Project, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Brennan Center for Justice, and Families Against Mandatory Minimums. The groups did not necessarily agree on any particular recommendation. Be Smart On Crime

Webb Again Presses For Criminal Justice Commission; Won't Run For 2nd Term ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) has reintroduced his proposal to create a national commission to study criminal justice, the same week he announced he will not run next year for a second term. The bill got close to passage last year, clearing the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee but failing to be passed by the Senate before Congress adjourned. It was included in an appropriations bill proposed by Democrats before time expired in the last Congress. The bill would establish a bipartisan commission of experts charged with what Webb calls "an 18-month top-to-bottom review of the nation's criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform." Webb said he had discussed the idea with "ore than 100 organizations from every political and philosophical perspective, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Heritage Foundation, Sentencing Project, Fraternal Order of Police, NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union, and Prison Fellowship." The commission would study all areas of the criminal justice system including federal, state, local and tribal governments' criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. It is not clear yet whether Webb's plan not to seek re-election will affect the chances of his bill's passage. U.S. Senator Jim Webb

How Justice System's Use of Technology is Expanding ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Technology is infiltrating every aspect of the criminal justice system, from the investigation to the prosecution of crimes-even to attempts to predict them, says The Crime Report. Experts discussed the trends last week at the 6th annual H.F. Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. For Dan Conley, the district attorney of Suffolk County in Massachusetts, video evidence has become de rigueur in the prosecution of most serious street crimes. "In many cases, we find video surveillance helpful," he says. "It's a jumping-off point." The New York Police Department purchased facial recognition software this month, and a growing number of police departments across the country have adopted a gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter. The Crime Report

Brown's CA Realignment Plan Poses Many Criminal-Justice Challenges ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gov. Jerry Brown's ambitious initiative to transfer more state responsibilities to local governments will bring challenges and consequences for law enforcement, from the number of cops on the street to who is locked behind bars, says the San Diego Union-Tribune. Cities and counties are scrutinizing the looming impacts - good and bad - of the governor's sweeping realignment plan that could be launched as early as this summer depending on legislative approval. Three critical elements of Brown's $420 million public safety package - police and sheriff patrols, jails, and probation - are part of his broader effort to realign state and local services. "We are approaching it from the standpoint of making it work. But making it work means public safety is not compromised," said Mack Jenkins, probation chief in San Diego County. Brown crafted the proposal as part of a broad cuts-and-taxes plan to close a $25.4 billion budget gap over the next 17 months. He insists change is inevitable given the deficit is more than 30 percent of his proposed $84.6 billion general fund. Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano said, "We're struggling right now just to keep up with calls for service so any additional loss in funding would be a major challenge for us." San Diego Union-Tribune

Napolitano: Terror Threat at "Most Heightened State" since 9/11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a House committee that the terror threat facing the U.S. is perhaps at the "most heightened state" since the Sept. 11 attacks nearly a decade ago, USA Today reports. Napolitano said the threat from al-Qaeda has been augmented by al-Qaeda-inspired groups and the emergence of homegrown radicals. In the past two years, more than 120 people have been indicted in federal court on terror-related charges. About 50 of them were U.S. citizens, said committee chairman Peter King (R-NY), citing Justice Department statistics. Don Borelli, a former FBI counterterrorism official who helped oversee the 2009 inquiry into a plot to bomb the New York subway by Denver shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi, said Napolitano and others are right to be concerned. "I don't think she's overreacting here," said Borelli, of the Soufan Group, an international security firm. He said the homegrown threat will require a change in strategy to help identify people vulnerable to radicalization. USA Today

More Mid-Size Places Adopt Surveillance Cameras; Privacy Remains An Issue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More mid-size communities are installing surveillance video cameras, borrowing the idea from big metro areas, says USA Today. Saginaw, Mi., population 55,238, installed 17 video cameras at a water/skate park and plans to add more by June in other parts of the city, says Mayor Greg Branch. "Crime for us is trending downward, but we still have a lot more crime than we want," he says. Another factor: Cameras are cheaper than hiring more cops. A $300,000 federal grant will pay for the new cameras. Big cities like New York, Washington, and Chicago use cameras to monitor high-crime and busy areas, and many businesses have them inside and outside. Law Prof. Dan Kobil of Capital University in Columbus says courts have ruled that people have no expectation of privacy in public settings. As technology allows more precise and pervasive images to be collected, he says courts likely will revisit the issue. The American Civil Liberties Union this week asked the Chicago City Council to halt expansion of its camera program. USA Today

MO Chief Justice: Prison-Based Punishment Strategy Not Working ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Missouri's chief justice again urged the state legislature to find solutions to the state's prison overcrowding, saying the state continues to incarcerate too many people who instead belong in diversion programs to help them kick drug and alcohol habits, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We continue to over-incarcerate nonviolent offenders, while we have failed to expand drug courts and other diversionary and reentry programs to capacity," Judge William Ray Price told a joint meeting of the House and Senate. "The result is a state that is not as safe as we want it to be and a waste of tax dollars." Price pointed to the staggering growth of Missouri's prison system to make his point. In 1982, the state had 5,953 prisoners and a budget of $55 million. In 2009, there were 30,432 prisoners and a budget of $665 million. Price said he, Gov. Jay Nixon, Speaker of the House Steve Tilley and Sen. Rob Mayer, the president pro tem of the Senate, are seeking a federal grant to study alternatives to incarceration in Missouri. Last year, lawmakers worked on a plan to close one prison and divert prisoners to drug courts, though the effort ultimately failed. The Legislature did, however, add to DWI courts, in part a response to Price's speech and a Post-Dispatch series about the failure of DWI laws in the state. "This prison based strategy is not working and it is costing us an arm and a leg," Price said. This year, the words seem destined to fall on deaf ears. Nixon has already indicated he doesn't support closing a prison, and a Senate committee ignored the concept St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Texas Urges Two Prison Closures, 400 Layoffs To Meet Budget Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas prison officials, their initial budget-cutting plans rejected by legislative leaders, have shuffled the deck and come up with a new proposal to cut more administrative jobs and close two prisons earlier than planned as a way to save $50 million, reports the Austin American-Statesman. The revised plan, provided to Senate and House leaders yesterday, would lay off an additional 400 administrative workers at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and move up the planned closure of the 1,000-bed prison near Sugar Land to sometime before Aug. 31. In addition, 500 beds at a 2,100-bed unit, a private contract prison for convicts who are soon to be paroled, would be closed by August. "What they've proposed now will work," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire. "I think that's what we're going to move ahead with." On Monday, prison officials had presented to legislative leaders their draft plan to reduce their current budget by about $75 million. It was quickly rejected by legislative leaders, because it proposed deep cuts in key drug- and alcohol-treatment treatment programs, along with layoffs of 137 parole officers and staff and 110 county probation officers and employees whose salaries are paid with state money. Austin American-Statesman

How Chicago Mayoral Candidates Would Reshape Police ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Picking a new police superintendent, getting more cops on the street and looking at where they're deployed. will be considerations for Chicago's new mayor, says the Chicago Tribune. Mayor Richard Daley's successor will have to figure out a way to deal with the Chicago police perception problem: Statistics show the city is safer than it has been in decades, yet high-profile, persistent gun violence in some neighborhoods has blunted that message. Police Superintendent Jody Weis has served as a political football during the campaign, with the four top mayoral contenders saying they won't renew his contract. Candidates Gery Chicago, Miguel del Valle, and Carol Moseley Braun say they would name someone from within the department's ranks; Rahm Emanuel hasn't said. Daley brought in former FBI agent Weis from Philadelphia to reform a department reeling from a string of misconduct cases that included a crew of officers committing home invasions and robbing people and two videotaped beatings involving off-duty officers Chicago Tribune

Newspaper Details Political Connections In MA Justice System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Massachusetts court officer system is rife with politically connected staffers who have ties to many of the power-brokers named in a scathing report on the patronage-ridden Probation Department, reports the Boston Herald. The report comes as the legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick wrestle for control of the Probation Department, which is overseen by Judge Robert Mulligan. The Herald's probe of court officers - who are also supervised by Mulligan - found dozens of successful court officer job- or promotion-seekers have a personal or political connection to the court or lawmakers who vote on the trial court's budget. Some successful candidates either gave a political contribution or sought a recommendation from the offices of ex-House Speakers Salvatore DiMasi and Thomas Finneran and Senate President Therese Murray - all of whom were named in an investigation of the Probation Department by an independent counsel. Court officers hold the key public safety function of guarding prisoners and providing security to witnesses and jurors. Boston Herald

Oxycodone Overdose Caused Death Of Woman In Busch Executive's Home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In another case of a celebrity-related prescription drug overdose death, the St. Louis County medical examiner said the death of Adrienne Martin, 27, who was found lifeless in December in the bedroom of former Anheuser-Busch chief executive August Busch IV, was caused by an accidental oxycodone overdose, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The case has drawn worldwide attention; police in the St. Louis suburb of Frontenac, where the death occurred, had 70 media inquiries just this week. It remains unclear where Martin got the drugs. J. Steven Beckett, a law professor at the University of Illinois, said the finding of an accidental overdose likely means the matter will end there. "The case is intriguing, but unless there is some forensic evidence indicating something was altered or destroyed, it will be hard to prosecute anyone," Beckett said. "Investi The case has drawn worldwide attention; police in the St. Louis suburb of Frontenac, where the death occurred, had 70 media inquiries just this week. It remains unclear where Martin got the drugs. J. Steven Beckett, a law professor at the University of Illinois, said the finding of an accidental overdose likely means the matter will end there. "The case is intriguing, but unless there is some forensic evidence indicating something was altered or destroyed, it will be hard to prosecute anyone," Beckett said. "Investigators would've had to do stuff like look in drain pipes to see if anything was flushed or discarded." St. Louis Post-Dispatch