Articles for 26 Feb 2011

U.S. Strikes Back After Agent Killed In Mexico, Arresting 450 In Drug Sweeps ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little more than a week after an U.S. law enforcement agent was shot to death by gunmen suspected of being Mexican drug traffickers, federal authorities struck back with raids across the nation that rounded up more than 450 people believed to have ties to criminal organizations south of the border, reports the New York Times. There were sweeps in nearly every major American city involving more than 3,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement agents, resulting in the seizure of an estimated 300 kilograms of cocaine, 150,000 pounds of marijuana, and 190 weapons. Derek Maltz of the Drug Enforcement Administration said the sweeps were part of a multinational investigation that could lead to more arrests and seizures in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. The operation was staged eight days afterJaime Zapata, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, was gunned down on a Mexican highway. While thousands of Mexican law enforcement agents have been killed in the drug violence that has plagued Mexico since 2007, Zapata was the first American official to be killed in the line of duty there in more than 25 years. Obama administration officials called the attack a "game-changer." New York Times

Massachusetts Drug Dealers Ply Their Trade in Rural Areas To Avoid Cops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drug dealers have been using quiet side roads and nearby state parks in Massachusetts to pass cocaine and heroin to other dealers or to sell drugs to addicts, many of whom drive there from New Hampshire towns just over the border, reports the Boston Globe. Sometimes dealers bury drugs in snowbanks and under stones so clients and colleagues can find them later. The quick exchanges are taking place in rural outposts where police departments are too small to keep up with numerous deals. "They're organized and they do their homework,'' Ashby, Ma., Detective John Dillon said of the area drug dealers. "If I was going to sell drugs, I wouldn't do it in front of 100 people. It's a very isolated area. You could go to certain streets and not see a house for a quarter mile.'' Tuesday, on a cul-de-sac of neatly kept homes surrounded by pine trees, a state trooper conducting surveillance fatally shot a man, 21, he ahd been watching. Boston Globe

A "Golden Opportunity" For Smart Criminal Justice Reforms? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The current political and fiscal climate presents a "golden opportunity" for smart criminal justice reforms, James Burch, acting director of the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance, told the National Committee on Community Corrections yesterday in Washington, D.C. The committee, a coalition of interest groups and corrections professionals, met in a session hosted by the Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project. Burch suggested that the relative lack of government dollars could be an advantage, forcing states and localities to be creative and not depend on the federal government for support. His agency supports the "Justice Reinvestment Initiative," which seeks ways to incarcerate fewer people and reinvest the cost savings on programs that do better at preventing recidivism. "This may be the most promising initiative [our agency] has going," Burch said. Pat Nolan of the Justice Fellowship spoke about the new "Right on Crime" campaign, in which conservatives are urging "most cost-effective approaches that enhance public safety." Nolan said the campaign so far has not targeted election officials for endorsements but said that some of its principles have been embraced by newly elected or incumbent governors in states like Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, and New York. Noting that new New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, backs justice reforms that save money, Nolan said the "right on crime" principles are "not captive of one party."

Kentucky Nears Approval Of Sentencing Reform/Justice Reinvestment Measure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A plan to overhaul the Kentucky corrections system and reduce costs has been approved by the House and was okayed yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Passage is seen likely next week, says the Louisville Courier-Journal. The measure is aimed at keeping low-level offenders out of prison by providing treatment for drug abuse and supervision in the community. The plan could save as much as $42 million per year - roughly half of which would be reinvested in programs to keep some offenders out of prison, supervise them more closely in their communities, and provide drug and alcohol treatment. Kentucky has about 20,500 inmates at a cost of about $21,700 a year per inmate. It costs about $3,000 a year to supervise offenders in the community and provide treatment. Sen. Jerry Rhoads, who has served in the Senate since 2003, said the measure was the most significant legislation considered during his tenure Louisville Courier-Journal

Cottage Industry Of Federal Prison Consultants Help White-Collar Convicts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ex-convict Patrick Boyce, founder of Federal Prison Alternatives in Columbus, Ohio, offers advice to prospective inmates as "federal mitigation specialist," says the Chicago Tribune. Boyce, 41, is one of a handful of consultants who gear their services toward a white-collar population that includes mortgage fraudsters, tax evaders, and Ponzi-schemers. He cites experience "as the best teacher," citing his own 27-month prison term for conspiracy to commit fraud. The cottage industry is dominated by ex-offenders, retired jailhouse employees and advocates who support prison alternatives. High-profile cases during the 1980s and '90s, including corporate raider Ivan Boesky and former junk bond financier Michael Milken - both of whom used prison consultants - have helped heighten awareness. Some criminal defense attorneys remain skeptical, and question whether the consultants can deliver what they promise. John Webster of the Nashville-based National Prison and Sentencing Consultants, charges $3,500 to $10,000 for prison coaching. Some consultants try to strengthen a defendant's presentencing request to be enrolled in a 500-hour federal drug and alcohol abuse program, which can result in a shorter prison stint. Others document medical reasons that argue why an inmate needs a lower bunk or special diet. Chicago Tribune

In Tight Budget Times, Prisons Expand Inmate-Labor Projects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prison officials are boosting inmate-labor projects to combat cuts in federal financing and dwindling tax revenue, using prisoners to paint vehicles, clean courthouses, sweep campsites, and perform many other services done before the recession by private contractors or government employees, reports the New York Times. New Jersey inmates clean deer carcasses from highways. Georgia inmates tend municipal graveyards. In Ohio, they paint their own cells. California officials hope to expand programs, including one in which wet-suit-clad inmates repair leaky public water tanks. "There's special urgency in prisons these days," said Martin Horn of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a former corrections commissioner in New York City and Pennsylvania. "As state budgets get constricted, the public is looking for ways to offset the cost of imprisonment." U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), has introduced a bill to require low-security prisoners to work 50 hours a week. "Think about how much it costs to incarcerate someone," Ensign said. "Do we want them just sitting in prison, lifting weights, becoming violent and thinking about the next crime? Or do we want them having a little purpose in life and learning a skill?" New York Times

Ohio Prison Recidivism Rate Down To 34 Percent, Lowest In 11 Years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rate of released offenders returned to Ohio prisons is the lowest it has been in 11 years, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Last year, 34 percent of inmates returned to prison for a parole or probation violation or a new felony conviction, down from 36 percent in 2009, said state corrections director Gary Mohr. Last year's recidivism rate is the lowest since 1997, when it was also 34 percent. The national recidivism rate averages about 50 percent. Mohr credited several factors for the improvement: better inmate programming, more structured parole supervision, enhanced staff training, and more use of community corrections, such as halfway houses. The department offers "evidence-based" programming that research has shown to be successful in leading to careers after prison, such as its horticultural and auto-mechanic training for inmates, spokesman Carlo LoParo said. The state's use of halfway houses and other community-corrections facilities for low-level, first-time offenders has helped improve the results by keeping such inmates away from career criminals in prisons, LoParo said. State lawmakers are trying to reduce the prison population of more than 50,000, 33 percent over design capacity, to avoid spending $500 million to build prisons. Columbus Dispatch

Oregon Pays Inmate Claims For Porn, Sunglasses, TV Sets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Property claims from inmates are a vexing challenge for the Oregon prison system, The Oregonian reports. Each year, inmates file about 1,000 claims that state officials -- not other inmates -- damaged or lost their property, or that their rights were violated when items were confiscated. An internal audit found the state pays an average of $60,000 a year for such claims, and spends more than that to process them. Corrections officials are months behind in making changes recommended by the auditors, such as tightening limits and better tracking inmate property. Among inmate claims: one figured the state owed him for improperly confiscating 250 pages of porn from his cell. Officials cut him a check for $125. Another inmate insisted that corrections officers damaged his television when they searched his cell. The state paid him $260 -- the cost of a new one. A prisoner demanded that corrections officials replace sunglasses missing from his cell. A judge ordered that he be paid $215 -- plus $3.29 in interest The Oregonian

Most States Won't Comply With Federal Sex Offender Law Act By July Deadline ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly half of the states that have not met federal requirements for their sex offender registries have a problem with the mandate that registries include juveniles, reports Youth Today. Some 21 states cite "juvenile requirements" as a barrier to complying with the act, which requires states to establish a sex offender registry that connects with a national registry. That aspect of the law, called the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), sets minimum requirements for who to include on the registry and how long to include them. July 10 is the deadline to comply with the Walsh Act or incur a 10 percent cut to the state's Justice Assistance Grant for state and local law enforcement. Florida, Delaware, Ohio, and South Dakota are the only states compliant with the law. At a House hearing last week, no witnesses expected the majority of states to be substantially compliant by the deadline this summer, and that some may not be ready for another two years, if they comply at all. The Justice Department is "reasonably confident" that between 10 and 15 states will comply with the Walsh Act by the July deadline, said tjhe department's Dawn Doran. "I'm not pleased with the rate of compliance," said crime subcommittee chairman Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI). "I intend to see it is fully implemented." Youth Today

300,000 Internet Fraud Complaints Filed With Federal Center ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 300,000 complaints of possible Internet fraud were filed last year with a federal center, but fewer than 122,000 of them were deemed worthy of referring to law enforcement agencies. Complaints about undelivered merchandise ordered online led the list. The number of complaints was down somewhat from more than 336,000 filed in 2009. The center provided no definitive reason for the drop, but said "a possible explanation is that complaint levels are normalizing as businesses and consumers discover and implement ways to make previously uncharted areas of online commerce safer and more reliable. Auction fraud formerly was the leading category of complaints, but it fell to 8th place last year. The Crime Report

WA Sex Offender Says he Deserves Execution for Killing Prison Officer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Washington state sex offender accused of strangling a corrections officer says he should get the death penalty because he already is serving a life term, says the Seattle Times. Prosecutors charged Byron Scherf, 52, of killing Jayme Biendl in a prison chapel last month. Scherf told police Biendl offended him while they were in the chapel on Jan. 29, saying a statement she made "triggered a response in me." He added, "I got to the point where I knew I was going to kill her." Biendl's family favors the death penalty. Scherf apparently agrees, telling police, "I took her life and I think I should forfeit mine. If I get a life sentence and she's [dead] then there's no punishment attached to it because I already have a life sentence." Scherf is serving a life term on a third rape conviction. Seattle Times

Domestic Violence Agency Says "Secure Communities" Changes Reporting Rules ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Safe Horizons, the largest assistance agency for victims of domestic violence in New York City, no longer is advising clients to contact the police if they are undocumented immigrants, reports Women's eNews. The federal Secure Communities program is changing the rules, says Lynn Neugebaeur of the Safe Horizons Immigrant Law Project. "We want people to report crimes, but on the other hand, we don't want them to be innocently picked up and deported for doing what an ordinary citizen would do," Neugebaeur said. Secure Communities grants state and local police access to Department of Homeland Security's immigration databases to crosscheck fingerprints when they make an arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is alerted if the person is found to be undocumented. Secure Communities has removed about 58,300 convicts from the U.S. since its pilot launch in late 2008. Some 28 percent of those transferred to ICE custody under Secure Communities from October 2008 through June 2010 were non-criminals. Some of the detained people are victims of domestic and sexual violence. Secure Communities is present in counties in 38 states. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says opting out isn't an option. Women's eNews