Connecticut Considers First Statewide Gun-Offender Registry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Connecticut measure that would create the nation's first statewide registry for gun offenders went before lawmakers yesterday at a public hearing on a package of gun bills, the Hartford Courant reports. The gun-offender database, modeled after the sex-offender registry, would give police a potent new tool to combat violence, said Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, who proposed the idea. Several cities, including New York City, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., have established such requirements for gun offenders, but no state has done so, Looney said. Just as those convicted of sex offenses must check in with local authorities, gun offenders would be required to register with local police. Unlike the sex-offender registry, the information on gun offenders would be accessible only to law enforcement officials. The requirement would apply to people who committed serious gun violations such as those who used a firearm to commit a crime, Looney said. "No law-abiding citizen or sportsman would have anything to fear from this bill,'' he said. Several lawmakers questioned why the registry was needed. They pointed out that a national crime database already contains information about gun offenders. But Looney and other supporters said the registry, unlike the national database, would give law enforcement the ability to pinpoint where the offenders live. |
Obama Formally Endorses D-Block For Public Safety Broadband Network ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President Obama has pledged his support for the allocation of the D-Block of the 700 MHz wireless broadband spectrum to public safety for the creation of a nationwide public safety mobile broadband network, says PoliceOne.com. In a speech at Northern Michigan University, Obama threw his support behind an initiative that was originally called for by the 9/11 Commission more than seven years ago. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, reintroduced a bill to devote that same and valuable swath of 700MHz wireless broadband spectrum to public safety agencies. Story County (IA) Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald - First Vice President of the National Sheriffs' Association and NSA's representative on the Public Safety Alliance, said the sheriffs applaud Obama's statement. |
Phila. Grand Jury Says Catholic Church Still Fails To Stamp Out Sex Abuse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Philadelphia grand jury brought felony charges against a former high-ranking official of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for "purposefully" shielding sexually abusive priests and endangering children in the late 1990s, and said it was uncertain whether retired archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was culpable as well, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. It was the second time in less than six years that a grand jury excoriated the archdiocese for its mishandling of sex-abuse cases, again bringing home the scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church worldwide for more than a decade. The new grand jury report said the current leadership under Cardinal Justin Rigali has not lived up to its promise to protect children by weeding out predatory clergy, keeping as many as 41 priests "in ministry despite solid, credible allegations of abuse." The panel issued two felony charges against Msgr. William Lynn, who handled all priest personnel issues, including abuse accusations, as Bevilacqua's secretary of the Office for Clergy from 1992 to 2004. "Let this be a clarion call," said District Attorney Seth Williams, himself a Catholic. "I love my church, but I detest the criminal behavior of priests who abuse, or allow the abuse, of children." |
How New Chicago Cops Study Artwork To Sharpen Their Observation Skills ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago police officers in training study paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago to sharpen their observational skills when they respond to shootings, robberies, or traffic crashes, says the Chicago Tribune. Sgt. Diane Shaw, who works with the recruits at the Chicago police academy, said the exercise helps officers try to see all aspects of a potentially dangerous situation instead of relying on their tunnel vision - limiting their focus to just what's in front of them. It also teaches officers to think creatively and establish trust with their partner, she said. New York City police officers have gone through similar training for more than six years to help in their crime-fighting. An Art Institute staffer led recruits yeterday from painting to painting, mostly artwork from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The recruits gazed quizzically and intently at the paintings as they took turns saying what they saw in detail - what was the theme of a painting or a prominent feature? Eventually, the staffer would explain what the artist meant by the work. One recruit, Brent Antesberger, he sees parallels between the artworks and police work. Just like with paintings, he said, "In a crime scene, you have a bunch of people. You're going to look at their faces, and you're able to maybe see their emotions. And their emotions then in turn might help you understand what role they play. Are they a witness? Are they a perpetrator?" |
Texas Prisons Urged To Free More Feeble Inmates To Avoid Medical Costs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas prisons should consider freeing more feeble inmates and quit holding them until they die, say legislative budget writers, according to the Dallas Morning News. Legislative analysts criticized current practices, saying they sock taxpayers with huge costs for gravely disabled and geriatric inmates' medical care. In 2009, only 59 of 337 inmates recommended for medical release won discharge by the parole board. That year, 74 inmates died of natural causes. A committee of mostly doctors that oversees inmate health care said inmates 55 or older last year made up 8 percent of the incarcerated population but racked up 31 percent of hospital costs. Prison director Brad Livingston called medical parole a complicated issue. While studies estimate that a 55-year-old in prison is likely to have the medical problems of a 65-year-old on the outside, Livingston said "it's hard to take that group [] and suggest there's a specific solution because of their age." A report last month 1,000 inmates each year are deemed potentially appropriate for medical release. After violent offenders are weeded out and further study, prison officials forward about 350 of them to the parole board. Fewer than one in five is granted "medically recommended intensive supervision." |
Ex-Prosecutor Urges Focus On A Few Selected "Rape Kits" For DNA Testing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The problem of DNA evidence in "rape kits" going untested is overblown, contends former prosecutor Wendy Murphy in Women's eNews. As many as 90 percent of the kits contain evidence that is irrelevant, Murphy says. Eighty-five percent of victims know their attackers and the defense is focused on consent, not whether the act occurred. In such cases, DNA tells us nothing about the issue in dispute. Human Rights Watch found that 12,000 kits in California went untested for years. Murphy says percent of those cases involve victims and perpetrators who know each other. That means only about 1,200 kits should even be considered for testing. Of those, there's a good chance a majority will be rejected for testing because studies have long shown that many rapists do not ejaculate. If we tested only the small minority of cases where DNA might actually help elucidate the truth--or where the offender is unknown--we'd have a much smaller backlog of kits stacked up. This targeted use of resources would, in turn, free up funds for expedited processing in the stranger rape cases where DNA is critically important, says Murphy. |
Louisiana Considers Selling Two Prisons to Help Ease Deficit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The administration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is asking companies to detail how much they would charge the state for inmates in two places if two state prisons are sold to ease budget problems, reports The Advocate in Baton Rouge. The Corrections Corporation of America operaes the Winn Correctional Center and Global Expertise in Outsourcing Inc. operates the Allen Correctional Center. Sale of the medium-security prisons would force the state to pay the new owners for the care of inmates. Some elected officials are nervious about how much the state would end up paying. Jindal estimates that a sale of the prisons would net the state $66n million, which would help trim a $1.6 billion state operating budget shortfall expected for the year beginning July 1. |
St. Louis Battles With MO Governor Over Control Of Local Police ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ St. Louis is battling with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon over control of the St. Louis Police Department. St. Louis leaders blasted Jay Nixon yesterday after he said local control of the police department could lead to political meddling in law enforcement, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The governor hadn't taken a public position on a bill that would take control from a board he controls and give it to the city. At a lunch with reporters, Nixon repeated criticism of the proposal from the St. Louis Police Officers Association. He said he is "concerned" that "you would see day-to-day management of law enforcement, direct decisions made in precincts, made in arrests, made in cases [] with political overtones." Jeff Rainford, chief of staff to St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, said that if Nixon were consitent, other Missouri cities should expect state control over their police. Reed went a step further and said the real political meddling is taking place under the current system, in which the governor appoints the Board of Police Commissioners. |
Arizona Sues U.S. In Effort To Force More Immigration-Law Enforcement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona took the unusual step of suing the federal government over its immigration policies, saysing it has failed to secure the border and protect the state from an "invasion" of illegal immigrants, the Arizona Republic reprots. About half a dozen other states have pursued similar efforts unsuccessfully over the last two decades. The lawsuit seeks to require the federal government to finish building 700 miles of fence along the border, provide enough federal immigration officers in Arizona to respond to local law-enforcement needs, change the way the federal government reimburses states for incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants, and allow Arizona to enforce federal immigration laws. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said "a meritless court claim such as this does nothing to secure the border." The Arizona lawsuit seeks to counter the case the U.S. Justice Department filed challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's controversial immigration law; that case remains pending. |
Colorado Child Porn Cases Quadrupled in Eight Years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a world of digital fingerprints, code words, and intricate file-sharing schemes, Colorado law enforcers are using technology to bust traders of online child pornography in greater numbers than ever before, says the Denver Post. Denver is one of three jurisdictions in the state with a team dedicated to finding and arresting people sharing illicit images and videos of kids. A detective can track an anonymous photo floating in the cyber ether to a specific computer at a specific street address. Investigations through peer-to-peer file-sharing networks - like evolved and less-centralized offspring of the music-sharing network Napster - made up nearly two-thirds of Denver police investigations into online abuse of children in 2010. Even with advances in policing, it is a constant race to keep up with pedophiles who find new ways to spread images of children in the expanding universe of the Internet. Colorado prosecutors saw the number of cases involving possessing and trading child pornography more than quadruple from 36 filed in 2001 to 159 in 2009. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has seen complaints to its cyber tip line triple since 2005. happens somewhat frequently." |
Nevada Police Group Protests GOP Call for Cutting Federal COPS Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nevada's largest police organization is protesting a Republican plan to terminate a federal grant program long popular with local law enforcement agencies, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Las Vegas Police Protective Association sought to pressure Reps. Joe Heck and Dean Heller, both Nevada Republicans, on the proposed GOP move to slash the COPS program. The cut to COPS "would be devastating for the law enforcement community in Nevada and across the country," said Chris Collins, association president. Since the program was initiated during the Clinton administration, Collins said Nevada enforcement agencies have received $69.8 million. COPS grants have funded 456 officers and sheriffs deputies, and allowed for the purchase of computers and communications equipment "that allow officers to spend more time on the streets." The House Appropriations Committee included COPS this week in a partial list of 70 spending cuts to be written into a bill funding the government for the remainder of fiscal 2011. The House will vote on that bill next week, and could cut even more under pressure from GOP members who say the rollbacks should be deeper. |
VT Legislation Would Allow Expungement Of Minor Conviction Records ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a constituent complained to Vermont state Sen. Dick Sears that she couldn't chaperone her granddaughter on a school trip because of a 25-year-old misdemeanor marijuana conviction, he decided to see if he could help, reports the Burlington Free Press. Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has proposed a bill that would let people ask courts to approve the destruction of records of their nonviolent misdemeanor convictions after a decade if they had no convictions for felonies during that period. Court approval of requests to expunge records would mean the individuals would be treated as if they had never been arrested or convicted for purposes of employment, for example, or entering the military. "I'm all for open government. That isn't the issue here," Sears said. He argued an expungement process would give people a chance to live normal lives after "they have overcome whatever stupid thing they have done." Allen Gilbert of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont frequently presses for greater openness in government and also privacy protection but doesn't oppose Sears' bill. He warned that individuals who went through the process shouldn't think expungement of official criminal records would erase all traces of their convictions. "I don't think expungement can rewrite history anymore," Gilbert said. "Our electronic data world has made that impossible." |
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Friday, February 11, 2011
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