Emanuel To Stress Community Policing, Gun Control as Mayor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel says he wants to restore the city's community policing to its roots and quickly push through changes to help the city's public school students get a better education, says the Chicago Tribune. "Community policing has become an office, not a philosophy. I want to modernize it and bring it back to a central focus," the mayor-elect said during an hourlong interview by Bruce Dold, the Tribune's editorial page editor. That approach should be complemented with a comprehensive after-school program and a focus on gun control measures to help bring a sense of security to residents, Emanuel said. Despite a decrease in the violent crime rate, Chicago has suffered from a perception problem that the city is less safe, Emanuel said. "It's like parallel universes," he said. |
Insider Al Wysinger May Emerge As Top Chicago Cop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The salary dispute that doomed Charles Ramsey's chances of becoming Chicago's next police superintendent has created a political dilemma for Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, says the Chicago Sun-Times. The new mayor can either try to bolster police morale by choosing one of three leading insiders: deputy chief of detectives Al Wysinger, chief of patrol Eugene Williams, or Assistant Deputy Supt. Debra Kirby. Or he can go with one of two outsiders under consideration - White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske or Newark police chief Garry McCarthy - and disappoint rank-and-file cops who long for one of their own after three long years under career FBI agent Jody Weis. Some sources close to the interviews being conducted by Emanuel and the Chicago Police Board believe the mayor-elect will ultimately choose an insider, with Wysinger having a slight edge. Wysinger has broad experience and is known for the day in 2007 when he ran down a gunman who shot a woman in a gangway near his grandmother's 80th birthday party. "He would turn morale around," said one former top-ranking cop. Williams, who also has wide experience, is known for his close ties to West Side ministers and his involvement in the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. "The ministers would have a big voice with Gene in charge," a source said. |
90 Years of Boston Female Cops--from Flapper Squad to High Ranks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It has been 90 years since Boston's first female police officers joined the force. The Boston Globe says that with Monday's anniversary comes a new recognition of the pioneers - a nurse, an ex-D.C. cop, two stenographers, and two housewives - who together broke the gender barrier in 1921. 'They're remarkable, and they were alone," said Sgt. Det. Kim Gaddy, who along with Margaret Sullivan, police archivist, scoured libraries in an effort to learn more bout the first six. Mayor Thomas Menino plans on designating space at City Hall to exhibit some of the photos and articles Sullivan and Gaddy unearthed. The police department remains a male-dominated bastion--women are 13 percent of the city's 2,074 sworn officers - the research shows the strides they have made from second-class citizens in the department to full-fledged members who can carry guns and rise as high as police commissioner. In 1921, the original officers, dubbed the "flapper squad'' in the press, were hired to watch out for young women in the city, who authorities feared were falling prey to "mashers,'' skirt-chasers who lurked in movie theaters, parks, and beaches. Their supervisors wanted them to track down runaway children and keep young women from drinking with sailors and haunting nightclubs. |
Will High Court Extend Youth Life Without Parole Ruling to Murders? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment for crimes that did not involve killings. The case affected about 130 prisoners convicted of crimes like rape, armed robbery, and kidnapping, says the New York Times. Now the inevitable follow-up cases are coming. Last month, lawyers for two other prisoners who were 14 when they were involved in murders filed the first petitions urging the justices to extend last year's Graham vs. Florida case to all 13- and 14-year-old offenders. The high court has been whittling away at severe sentences. It has banned the death penalty for juvenile offenders, the mentally disabled, and those convicted of crimes other than murder. The Graham decision for the first time excluded a class of offenders from a punishment other than death. This progression suggests it should not be long until the justices address the question posed in the petitions. An extension of the Graham decision to all juvenile offenders would affect about 2,500 inmates. |
Accused FL Killer Of Brit Tourists Out Despite High Risk Assessment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On April 16, two British tourists were murdered near Sarasota, Fl. Shawn Tyson, 16, was arrested. It was his second arrest this month, reports Sarasota Patch. Less than two weeks prior, he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. During both arrests, Tyson was screened by the Sarasota County Juvenile Assessment Center for his risk to public safety. The resulting document - called a "detention risk assessment instrument" - was presented to a judge at Tyson's first court appearance in early April. The "risk assessment instrument" looks at a variety of factors and is used for all arrested minors. Getting 12 or more points requirs secure detention. Tyson's first arrest qualified him for 22 points, but a judge released him to his mother. Nine days later, he was back in detention for the double murder. Tyson's "detention risk assessment instrument" is under court seal while the murder investigation continues |
Small Federal Funding Allocation Helps Educate Incarcerated Teens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a long wait for action on any juvenile justice-related legislation, the pending reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act - now known as No Child Left Behind - offers advocates a chance to improve the plight of youth who are incarcerated, reports Youth Today. The law sets standards for schooling in juvenile facilities, which can be a key to improving a youth's chances for staying out of such institutions in the future. President Obama's blueprint for ESEA reauthorization mentions incarcerated juveniles in one paragraph on delinquent and neglected youth, and only to say the administration will ask the states to reserve certain funding for them. The appropriation for incarcerated youth has risen from $42 million in 2002 to $50 million lately. The money goes to states, which are required to disperse some of it to facilities holding juveniles and some to school districts. In turn, agencies and school districts are required to meet the educational needs of delinquent youth, assist in their transition back to school districts and evaluate academic progress by juveniles. Says criminologist Thomas Blomberg of Florida State University, "I do feel like there is a growing recognition of the value of education with this population. And that they can be educated, they can turn it around." Education provided in juvenile facilities has generally been viewed as being abysmal. Still, the U.S. Department of Education says that 70 percent of juveniles gained at least one grade level in math or reading while incarcerated. |
Hate Crime Among Charges In Rutgers "Net" Suicide Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An ex-Rutgers University student whose roommate committed suicide after his sexual encounter with another man was streamed on the Internet has been indicted on 15 charges, including intimidation based on sexual orientation, a hate crime, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Charges against Dharun Ravi in Middlesex County, N.J., also included invasion of privacy and witness tampering. His roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide last September, one day after Ravi and a friend allegedly invited others to view an intimate encounter online. Clementi's death was one in a string of teen suicides attributed to bullying, which inspired the antibullying campaign, the "It Gets Better Project." Congress is considering the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, which would require universities getting federal funds to have a policy banning harassment based on race, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity. Cyberbullying remains new territory when it comes to criminal prosecutions. "Although Facebook, Twitter and text message evidence is part of nearly every case, the law has not caught up with this technology," says law Prof. Derek Witte of the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law in Michigan. |
NC Prison Chief Charged In Destruction of Fight Video ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A former correctional officer at a maximum security prison in Anson County, N.C., says her boss ordered her to destroy a video that may show a staff member using excessive force during a fight with inmates, McClatchy Newspapers report. Richard Neely, who until last week was the administrator of Lanesboro Correctional Institution, has been arrested and charged with obstructing justice for allegedly giving the order to keep the video under wraps. Neely is a 30-year-veteran of the state's correction system. Stephanie Miller, a former sergeant at the prison, said in an interview yesterday that Neely instructed her to destroy the video footage taken in 2009. It was the latest in a string of scandals to hit the 1,000-inmate prison 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. Bill Rayburn, one of the prison's former inmates, won a legal settlement with the state after alleging he was repeatedly pepper sprayed in 2009 after requesting medical help. Twice, Rayburn said, he was sprayed while he was naked. |
Supreme Court Denies Inmate Right To Damages For Religious Violation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas may not be sued for money damages by an inmate who claimed prison rules violated his right to religious practice, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, says the Austin American-Statesman. Harvey Leroy Sossamon III, serving a life term for murder, charged that disciplinary rules that restricted inmates to their cells improperly kept him from attending religious services. He also claimed officials, citing "overexaggerated" security concerns, wrongly denied him access to the prison chapel. Sossamon's request for a court injunction ended when the prison abandoned its restrictions on religious practice. His effort to receive money damages was denied by U.S. Judge Sam Sparks of Austin and by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The high court, in a 6-2 opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, agreed that the federal religious-liberty law, which allows prisoners to sue for "appropriate relief," did not give inmates the ability to collect money damages from state governments. In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said there is nothing ambiguous about the concept of appropriate relief, which typically includes money. |
Phila. Man Spends Year in Jail On Wrongful Rape Charge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robinson's Kafkaesque nightmare began Aug. 4, 2008, when he opened up the Daily News and saw his mugshot under the headline "WEEK'S MOST WANTED." Robinson sought help state Sen. Shirley Kitchen, who persuaded Robinson to turn himself in. "She probably thought that I'd be able to be heard once I got down there, but it didn't work like that," he says. The charge was dropped in January 2009 when the accuser failed to appear twice for a hearing. He served eight more months for failing to pay restitution in an earlier case. It is not clear how his mugshot got linked to an alleged rape by a different Eugene Robinson |
Feds Adopt Two-Tiered Terror Alert System, Replacing 5 Colors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The federal government is adopting a simple, two-tiered alert system to warn of terrorist threats and possible attacks, USA Today reports. The National Terrorism Advisory System replaces the five-colored terror alert system that was adopted soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In place next week, it will alert the public to one of two warning levels: An elevated threat alert, the lowest warning, would be issued if a credible threat were determined, but it likely wouldn't detail any timing or terrorist targets. An imminent threat alert, the highest notice, would be triggered if there were a credible, specific and impending threat or ongoing attack. |
Should Congress Prod More States to Collect Arrestees' DNA? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 2001, King County Sheriff Dave Reichert in Washington state relied on a DNA match to solve the case of the Green River Killer, who murdered 49 women and still ranks as the nation's most prolific serial killer, McClatchy Newspapers report. Now a congressman, Reichert wants to expand the use of DNA testing by getting more states to collect DNA samples, just as they do fingerprints, when suspected felons are arrested for state crimes. Testing already is allowed for anyone arrested for a federal crime; 24 states have passed such a law. Reichert wants to spend $30 million over 5 years to provide incentives for the remaining 26 states to pass similar laws. Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say it's an invasion of privacy and that DNA testing should be reserved for convicted felons. They note that hundreds of thousands of people are arrested each year but that many of them are never charged or convicted. Reichert has teamed up with Jayann and David Sepich of Carlsbad, N.M., whose 22-year-old daughter, Katie was raped, strangled, set on fire, and abandoned at a dump site in August 2003. Jayann Sepich said a national DNA sample law could save hundreds of lives, and she wants to help others avoid her trauma. She's become an expert, testifying at statehouses across the U.S. and works full time on the issue |
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Thursday, April 21, 2011
Articles for 21 April 2011
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