TN to Release 2,200 Inmates 2 Months Early to Save Money ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tennessee plans to release more than 2,000 prison inmates two months earlier than their full sentences to save $5.7 million over the next year, The Tennessean reports. The state will merge prison rehabilitation programs, allowing more inmates who complete those programs to shave 60 days off their sentences. Inmates who committed violent offenses and nonviolent offenses could be eligible for early release. Inmates sentenced to death or life without parole are not eligible. Correction officials expect 2,200 inmates to leave this year and next before their terms otherwise had been expected to end. Their empty beds would then be filled by state inmates who have been housed - at greater cost - at local jails because of prison overcrowding. The news is being met with guarded optimism from sheriffs departments. While some welcome any chance to unload state inmates from local jails, they worry that the benefits will be short-term. "Anytime they can get beds out of here and into Nashville, that's going to help obviously. But at some point in time, the state's going to have to build more beds," Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said. "We'll hear from the victims of some of them, I'm sure." |
Privatizing Ohio Prisons Would Save Via Lower Employee Benefits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ohio corrections director Gary Mohr's goals include selling five prisons, privatizing two, cutting the population by 2,000 inmates, and saving $10 million in medical costs, says the Columbus Dispatch. In a legislative hearing on a proposed $2.97 billion biennial prison budget, Mohr made it clear that his proposed changes won't be easy. Some 171 state employees would lose their jobs. Mohr said private companies pay less and allow less vacation, sick and personal time. It takes two state employees to staff a position for a week but requires 1.7 private employees to do the same job, he said. He was asked about the influence his former employer, the private-prison operator Corrections Corp. of America, would have on the proposed sales and contracts. He said he has turned over all decision-making in the matter to chief of staff Linda Janes. |
Study Faults Drug Treatment In New York State Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Up to three-fourths of New York State's 57,000 prison inmates need drug counseling or treatment to have a chance at productive, crime-free lives once they are released, says a study reported by the New York Times. The Correctional Association of New York looked at drug treatment at 23 of the state's nearly 68 facilities. It found that the programs varied wildly in effectiveness and that most departed significantly from best practices of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. New York prisons fail to screen candidates based on the severity of their problems, which means they wastefully enroll large numbers of people in intensive programs they don't need. They also routinely enroll poorly motivated inmates, which limits effectiveness. They fail to coordinate prison treatment programs with those offered in the communities to which the inmates will return. Researchers found model treatment programs in at least four state prisons. The study said the state could improve drug treatment without spending any more than the estimated $19 million it devotes to this problem by deploying the existing staff in better designed programs. |
Critics: Drug Courts Widen the Net, Spend Resources Ineffectively ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ America's growing reliance on drug courts is an ineffective allocation of scarce state resources, the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group argued today. The institute contends that "drug courts can needlessly widen the net of criminal justice involvement, and cannot replace the need for improved treatment services in the community." The group said that of nearly 8 million people in the U.S. who say they need treatment for drug use, fewer than one fourth classified with substance abuse or a dependence on drugs and/or alcohol gets treatment. For those who do receive treatment, more than 37 percent are referred by the criminal justice system. Among the institute's recommendations: provide more treatment before people get involved in the justice system, start more "diversion" programs, focus court treatment programs on those who would have gone to prison, and do more evaluations of drug courts |
Baltimore Chief Seeks Tougher Gun Laws After Spate of Shootings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a weekend in which 18 people were shot in Baltimore, including a police detective who was injured and a 4-year-old boy who died, Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld used the spate of violence to argue for tighter gun laws in Maryland, reports the Baltimore Sun. Bealefeld bemoaned the availability of illegal guns, and said the arrest record of a man accused of opening fire on a city police officer Friday night underscores the point. Gerry Gough, 23, was arrested in 2009 with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, telling police he carried the weapon for protection and knew how to get more - his cellphone wallpaper even displayed an image of him clutching a weapon He got just six months in jail. "After they get arrested, they get guns again. To say it minimally, it's [exasperating] that more people don't understand the enormous ramifications of these guys running around the city with these handguns," Bealefeld said. "[Baltimore residents] expect that when people do bad things, they're going to be held accountable." |
Seattle Police Investigate Charges Of Rubber-Stamping DUI Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seattle police are investigating the alleged mishandling of dozens of drunken-driving cases by members of the department's DUI Squad, prompting city attorneys to put some prosecutions on hold, the Seattle Times reports. The investigation is focused on accusations that arrest reports weren't properly screened and approved by a sergeant in the DUI Squad, as required under department policy. The head of the Seattle police union, Sgt. Rich O'Neill, called the investigation an unfair reaction to a "paperwork snafu." Among the allegations is that Sgt. David Abe, a 32-year veteran, routinely did not report to work and approved DUI arrests by telephone. A rubber stamp then was used by DUI officers to affix the sergeant's name to reports. The Police Department is looking into the possibility that the sergeant's name was put on reports without first contacting him. Dozens of the squad's current and past DUI cases might be compromised. |
Utah To Close Gap When Domestic Violence Suspects Harass Victims ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first 36 hours after an abuser is arrested are often the scariest for a domestic violence victim, says Katy Peterson of the Dove Center, a Utah domestic violence center. "They start doubting themselves and fear the repercussions of what they've done," she says. If there is any delay in getting a protective order in place - which is likely if an arrest happens at night or on a weekend, when courts are closed - those are the hours when an abuser often tries to manipulate a victim through repeated telephone harassment, even from behind bars. The gap is closed once an alleged abuser bails out of jail and is given a no-contact order, designed to give a victim enough time to get a temporary protective order. "Until that no-contact order or no-release order is in place, there is nothing we [can] do about it," said Shauna Jones of the Washington County Sheriff's Office. That bill will change in May when a bill Gov. Gary Herbert signed yesterday will make it a class B misdemeanor for an alleged abuser to contact a victim after being arrested and while detained in jail |
Can Legislators Do Anything About "Facebook Felons"? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A "Facebook felon" bill working its way through the South Carolina legislature would impose a maximum $500 fine and as many as 30 more days in jail for any prisoner caught creating or using a Facebook or Twitter account, says the Christian Science Monitor. Some inmates are managing to get their hands on smart phones and surreptitiously tap out pithy updates, send messages to the outside world, and even post photos after lights-out. For South Carolina state Rep. Wendell Gilliard, a law-and-order Democrat, the use of social media by prisoners is "a slap in the face" to both society and to victims. Criminalizing cell block use of social media could infringe on First Amendment rights, some experts say. A new law could obscure the real problem now being brought to light in prisons: an unchecked flow of contraband, including drugs and cellphones. "This is a meaningless strategy that makes it look like you're doing something about contraband and you're not," says Michele Deitch, a prison policy expert at the University of Texas at Austin. "Adding 30 days to someone's sentence is not going to keep them from doing this. What needs to happen is better controls within the prison." |
Chicago's "Becoming a Man" Tries to Steer Kids from Gangs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In some of Chicago's troubled neighborhoods, boys may join gangs at a young age. For many, it's a road fraught with violence, reports NPR in the second in a series. A group called Becoming a Man (BAM) is working on getting to those youngsters before they're drawn into gang life or drop out of school. Tony DiVittorio, a 42-year-old, muscular and tattooed social worker, created BAM in 2003 to mentor boys. He says young males are often more likely than females to be victims or perpetrators of violent crime. BAM operates in 16 public high schools and elementary schools. The students are often at risk of failing, have behavior problems or have no positive male role models in their lives. BAM counselors conduct clinical assessments, provide individual counseling if needed and consult with teachers. The curriculum is built around core principles like integrity, accountability, and positive ways to express anger. The University of Chicago Crime Lab is evaluating BAM and other programs designed to curb violence. Co-director Harold Pollack says BAM, at a cost of about $1,000 per student, is promising. |
Comey, Wainstein May Have The Edge as Possible FBI Choices ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of a long list of possible candidates to succeed Robert Mueller as FBI director, the Associated Press is suggesting that James Comey and Kenneth Wainstein, two high Justice Department officials from the George W. Bush administration, have the edge. The AP cited only "people familiar with the search" as sources. Mueller's 10-year, nonrenewable term expires Sept. 4. The explanation of Comey and Wainstein's prominence is that the Obama administration faces an expanded Republican minority in the Senate, which must confirm the choice. Comey became a hero to Democratic opponents of Bush's warrantless wiretapping when Comey, as Deputy Attorney General, refused for a time to reauthorize it. Wainstein was working for Mueller at the FBI when agents at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, objected to abusive interrogation techniques employed by the military and when Mueller decided FBI agents could not participate in interviews involving these techniques. |
Why is Race Now an Issue in Media Coverage of TX Gang Rape? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the disputed news coverage over a rape in Cleveland, Tx., there was hardly any mention of the victim's or suspects' race at first, but many news organizations have now reported that the victim, 11, is Hispanic, many of the 18 suspects charged are black,and racial tensions are stirring, reports the Poynter Institute, a news media think tank. Poynter says the mention of race has raised more questions than it's answered. Among them: "Why wasn't race mentioned in the initial reports, and at what point did it become relevant? Is there a history of racial tension between blacks and Hispanics in Cleveland, or does the tension have more to do with people believing the suspects were wrongly targeted because they're black? Was race a motive in the crime?" |
NH Police Department Curbs Info Release After Official Complains ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Concord, N.H., police have dramatically restricted the amount of information included in arrest reports made available to the public after a complaint from City Councilor Fred Keach and his lawyer, who said the police disclosed too much information after Keach was charged with driving while intoxicated last fall, the Concord Monitor reports. Until recently, the reports often included a narrative account of the circumstances that led to an arrest, explaining why the police were called and what happened when they made the arrest. Now the reports are limited to a list of basic information, including the name of the person arrested, the charges filed by the police, the time and location of the arrest, and the name of the arresting officer. The Monitor's First Amendment lawyer, Bill Chapman, is negotiating with the city in hopes of modifying the new policy and allowing more information to be released. "Clearly it's not complying with the Right-To-Know Law," Chapman said. City officials said the policy change was prompted by a letter from Keach's attorney, Jim Rosenberg, who questioned the police department's practice of disclosing information about arrests to the press and the public. |
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Articles for 22 March 2011
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