Baltimore County Launches iWatch Program For Online Crime Tips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Baltimore County police have launched a high-tech citizen "iWatch" program that features an online tip system monitored 24 hours a day that can receive text messages and offers crime alerts featuring video surveillance pictures, says the Baltimore Sun. "You can't fully protect yourself or others unless you are informed," said Police Chief James Johnson. Baltimore County has introduced digital license plate readers attached to police cars that will alert the officer inside when he's just passed a car that might be stolen or registered to a criminal suspect. The Miami-Dade County, FL., police have a new flying surveillance drone built by a military contractor. At a "Techno-Crimefighting" this month at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay prof. Dennis Kenney gave a presentation on video surveillance with an official from New Scotland Yard in London. Kenney is skeptical about big investments in technology or seeing it as a substitute for good police work. Still, he said technological tools can be useful in the hands of skilled investigators. At a "Techno-Crimefighting" panel this month at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Prof. Dennis Kenney gave a presentation on video surveillance with an official from New Scotland Yard in London. Kenney is skeptical about big investments in technology or seeing it as a substitute for good police work. Still, he said technological tools can be useful in the hands of skilled investigators. |
NYPD Plans To Remove Its Detectives From Joint FBI Bank Robbery Unit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Police Department plans to pull all six of its detectives from a joint task force with the FBI that investigates armed bank robberies, says the New York Times. The detectives, now assigned to FBI headquarters in Lower Manhattan, would be redeployed to police units around the city to focus on broader crime issues. Officials have emphasized that the detectives would still be available to the Joint Bank Robbery Task Force on an as-needed basis. With the department's head count shrinking by 6,000 officers in the last decade and bank robberies reaching low levels, police officials said it made more sense to use the detectives differently. "They can be better deployed working major cases throughout the five boroughs," said spokesman Paul Browne. The city is experiencing a surge in the number of armed bank robberies, including seven attributed to Marat Mikhaylich, who has been called the Holiday Bandit for the heists that began to increase in frequency around Christmas. One New York Police official called the planned change "a bad thing. This was the model for FBI-local law enforcement task forces, and it's been effective. I think there is a concern that if this happens, that effectively indicates the end of a successful 32-year arrangement." |
In A "Crime Risk" Ranking, St. Louis and Atlanta Called the Worst ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Atlanta's "crime risk" is nearly five times the national average, say an analysis of FBI crime data by Onboard Informatics for U.S. News & World report, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The magazine reports Atlanta's motor vehicle theft rate as 55 percent greater than the national average while the burglary rate is 38 percent higher than the rest of the country. The Atlanta Police Department said it "urges the public to view such lists with caution, as well as a measure of skepticism." St. Louis has the nation's highest risk of crime, the report said. Ranking behind Atlanta: Birmingham and Orlando (tie); Detroit; Memphis; Miami; Baltimore; Kansas City; Minneapolis and Cleveland (tie). U.S. News and World Report acknowledges the index figures "do not provide a full picture of crime in any given city." It said, "For example, Birmingham and Orlando share an index rating of 380, but a statistical snapshot shows that the two cities deal with their own unique crime patterns. |
Lara Logan Assault: What the Media Should And Shouldn't Be Covering ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Online comments about CBS reporter Lara Logan's assault by an Egyptian mob offer many examples of what not to say, says Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute media think tank, citing freelance journalist Nir Rosen's suggestion via Twitter that the attack on Logan 'wasn't that bad." McBride suggests some issues involving sexual assault that the news media might explore, such as that women are more likely than men to be victims, children are commonly victims of sexual assault, and sexual assault happens more often during times of war and civil unrest. It isn't known why Logan's attackers assaulted her, and the public may never know. Most of the time, journalists do not disclose the names of sexual assault survivors because the crime is such an invasion of privacy. CBS released details of the assault on Logan only after the Associated Press asked. Most victims appreciate privacy, says McBride, but some do not because "they feel that going nameless reinforces the notion that what happened to them wasn't real, or wasn't that bad, or was their fault. |
114 Charged in Medicare Fraud; Is Prosecution the Answer? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A health-care crime sweep netted 114 defendants on charges related to Medicare fraud in what Attorney General Eric Holder called the largest such takedown in U.S. history, the Wall Street Journal reports. The defendants-charged in nine metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Detroit, and Miami-were allegedly involved in more than 40 mostly unrelated schemes that attempted to defraud the government of more than $240 million. Several cases appear to involve doctors or other health-care practitioners acting alone or with few alleged co-conspirators. One of these, Brooklyn physical therapist Aleksandr Kharkover, was featured in a December Wall Street Journal article on possible financial abuse involving physical therapy, a growing area of Medicare fraud. "The fact that you can have an operation this large with cases that aren't connected shows the extent of the problem," said a senior law-enforcement official. Medicare fraud is "so rampant," he said, "there's no way in hell you can prosecute your way out of this problem, no way. The answer is not prosecution-the answer is more effective monitoring of the money that goes out. |
Should Criminal Justice Spending Shift From Corrections To Policing? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scholars Daniel Nagin of Carnegie Mellon University and Steven Durlauf of the University of Wisconsin this week took their case to Capitol Hill that the level of imprisonment in the U.S. and the crime rate both might be reduced if some criminal justice spending were shifted from the corrections system to policing. Nagin spoke at a briefing sponsored by the Consortium of Social Science Associations. In a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Criminology & Public Policy (available only to members of the American Society of Criminology and other subscribers), Nagin and Durlauf contend that "in an era of reduced crime control budgets, policing should get a larger share of a smaller budget." The consortium assembled an expert panel to comment on the paper. William Bratton, former police chief of Los Angeles and New York City, said that police actions focused on crime prevention can reduce incarceration, especially for minority males. Former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh believes it would be difficult to translate the savings from cutting prison populations into more money for police in the current financial climate. Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson said the current experiments with "justice reinvestment" embody the Nagin-Durlauf thesis. Criminologist Lawrence Sherman of the University of Maryland and Cambridge University said it is now time for "offender management policing" in which police take on more probation and parole functions. Police could take part in diverting low risk offenders from the justice system, he said. |
MI Governor's Spending Plan: Education Cut More Than Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Insiders expected New Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to propose deep cuts in the state's prison budget, but he didn't, says the Detroit Free Press. Snyder will ask the legislature to approve the closing of one prison, as yet unnamed, saving $18.9 million. He also said he would seek the privatization of food service and prison store operations, along with administrative reductions to save another $32.3 million. Department of Corrections spending would be virtually flat, at slightly more than $2 billion in 2011. Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan, who was generally positive about Snyder's budget, said the prison cuts are "not nearly enough." Although funding for higher education is targeted for a 15 percent reduction, the proposed prison spending "says to me that prisons trump educating bright minds," he said |
WA Prison Program For Women Inmates and Children Tries To "Break the Chain" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At Washington state's largest corrections center for women, 871 inmates are serving their sentences. Among them, reports KXLY television, are 8 babies being raised right in the middle of it all. It's a trailblazing program being adopted in other states. But, is prison a safe place to raise a child? "We're promoting a healthy bond between incarcerated women and their children," explained Sonja Alley, who supervises the program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. One recent day, the program housed 10 women and 10 kids, with the youngest child just two weeks old. Women must meet strict criteria to qualify: they have to be minimum-security offenders, and mental health is evaluated. While there are exceptions, the women typically are serving a sentence of 30 months or less. It's a short time in prison terms, but a lifetime for these infants and toddlers. The program is designed to keep moms and babies from ever coming back. "Children of incarcerated parents are five to seven times more likely to be incarcerated themselves," Alley said. "So, we're really trying to break that chain." |
Ohio Gov. Kasich Apologizes To Police Officer For Calling Him "Idiot" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ohio Gov. John Kasich personally apologized to the Columbus police officer he thrice labeled an "idiot" for giving him a traffic ticket, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Jim Gilbert, head of the Fraternal Order of Police union representing Columbus officers, said Kasich "apologized for using the term and said it was a wrong choice of words and a bad example. [Kasich] said that he holds law enforcement in high regard." "I'm ready to put the issue to bed," Gilbert said. But he acknowledged that the "idiot" remark would resonate with many officers for some time. I'm quite sure this is still going to be a very significant thing in the back of every police officer's mind." Columbus police said a review of the traffic stop shows that officer Robert Barrett "conducted himself in a professional and courteous manner by treating Mr. Kasich with respect and dignity." |
Widow: Evidence In Ex-Military Official's Death Points To Contract Killing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine Klyce, widow of former federal official John Wheeler, tells Slate.com that the Newark, De., police have "made my life so miserable" in their investigation of Wheeler's death. His body was found in a landfill on Dec. 31. When family members went to the Newark police station for questioning. "They treated us like criminals, all of us," said Klyce. "They were rude." The cops confiscated credit cards, financial records, and Wheeler's computer. In recent weeks, some of her cards have had mysterious charges, including two plane tickets from New York to Madrid totaling $3,000. Klyce is concerned that police are not devoting the proper resources to the case. "They just don't have a clue," said Klyce. The family announced a $25,000 award on Jan. 30 for information that led to the arrest of Wheeler's killer. No one has responded. The silence strengthens a hunch Klyce has had since the beginning: That Wheeler's death wasn't random. "I think perhaps no one has been on the reward because they've already been paid," she said. Then there's the way Wheeler's body was apparently moved from Wilmington to the dumpster in Newark. "The way they disposed of his body, it's a miracle anybody ever found it. That just sounds like a pro to me." Citing Wheeler's involvement in the military and government, Thomas McInerney, a retired Air Force officer, told ABC News: "A man with that experience, it could have been foul play to get some of the secrets he had." |
Crime and Justice Journalism Gets Several Media Awards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crime and justice issues were prominent subjects in the annual awards from the American Society of News Editors.Among them, the Hartford Courant won the Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting for coverage of a disgruntled employee's rampage that left nine people dead. ASNE said the Courant "created a riveting narrative based on eyewitness and police accounts and then went on to unlock the story of what drove Thornton to commit the worst mass murder in Hartford's history." A.C. Thompson of ProPublica won the Batten Medal for uncovering police misconduct and vigilante justice in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina. Jacquielynn Floyd of the Dallas Morning News won an award for "deeply felt columns on criminal justice, family, immigration and prejudice." Photographer Barbara Davidson of the Los Angeles Times was cited "for her absorbing examination of the effects of gang violence on the innocent: those wounded or killed because of a quarrel in which they had no part, victims lying in hospital beds or relatives and friends standing by their loved ones' coffins or sitting all alone asking, "Why?" |
Delaware's Cris Barrish Wins Nakkula Police Reporting Award ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cris Barrish, senior reporter for The News Journal in Delaware, won the 2011 Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting for his coverage of a decade of failure by police, prosecutors, and medical authorities to make a case against a pediatrician considered one of the worst U.S. pedophiles. Dr. Earl Bradley has been charged with raping and sexually assaulting more than 103 children - all patients. Fellow doctors, a parent and his sister complained to authorities but no case was made until December 2009. Delaware initiated two investigations into how Bradley eluded prosecution for so many years and legislators approved nine bills reforming the system for investigating and disciplining doctors. Barrish, 52, has been with the paper since 1981, writing about sports, politics, government corruption and criminal justice issues. Justin Fenton of The Baltimore Sun was named second place winner for a series of stories that showed Baltimore led the nation in the percentage of rape reports deemed "unfounded" by police. His work led to the opening of 52 new criminal rape investigations and has improved the way sexual assault cases are investigated. Third place went to John Diedrich of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for work that included stories on how federal laws allowed gun stores to operate even after they faced federal gun license revocation. The award is administered by the University of Colorado School of Journalism & Mass Communication. |
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Articles for 18 Feb 2011
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