Articles for 19 Sept 2011

Reported Violent Crime Down 6 Percent Last Year, FBI Says ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reported violent crime in the U.S. dropped 6 percent last year compared with 2009, the fourth consecutive year it has declined, the FBI said today. For the eighth consecutive year, property crimes went down as well-2.7 percent. The report was compiled from data submitted by 18,000 law enforcement agencies, and differs from the Justice Department's victimization survey, which was issued last week and reported a 13 percent drop in violent crime. In the FBI's report, the largest decrease was robbery, 10.0 percent. Motor vehicle thefts were down 7.4 percent. The most common violent crime was aggravated assault, which accounted for 62.5 percent of the crimes reported last year. Firearms were used in about two thirds of reported murders, 41.4 percent of reported robberies, and 20.6 percent of aggravated assaults FBI

Victimization Survey Found 49% Violence Drop Since '93 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Experts are surprised at how much crime is declining as shown in the Justice Department's National Crime Victimization Survey, criminologist Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University tells the Associated Press. From 1993 through 2010, the rate of violent crime has declined by a whopping 70 percent: from 49.9 violent crimes per 1,000 persons age 12 or older to only 14.9 per 1,000 in 2010. Half of this decline came between 1993 and 2001. Between 2001 and 2009, violent crime declined at a more modest annual average of 4 percent, but that rate decline jumped to 13 percent in 2010. Blumstein said "the victimization survey is basically confirming" the FBI's preliminary figures on crimes reported to police during 2010. That early, incomplete data showed reported crime fell across the board last year, extending a multi-year downward trend with a 5.5 percent drop in the number of violent crimes in 2010 and a 2.8 percent decline in the number of property crimes. The victimization survey figures are considered the government's most reliable crime statistics, because they count crimes that are reported to the police as well as those which go unreported. Over the last decade, only about half of all violent crimes and only 40 percent of property crimes are reported to police. Associated Press/Kansas City Star

For First Time, U.S. Drug Deaths Outnumber Highway Fatalities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fueled by an increase in prescription narcotic overdoses, drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the U.S., finds a Los Angeles Times analysis of government data. Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death in 2009, killing at least 37,485 people nationwide, say preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most major causes of preventable death are declining, drugs are an exception. The death toll has doubled in the last decade, now claiming a life every 14 minutes. By contrast, traffic accidents have been dropping for decades because of huge investments in auto safety. Public health experts have used the comparison to draw attention to the nation's growing prescription drug problem, which they characterize as an epidemic. This is the first time that drugs have accounted for more fatalities than traffic accidents since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979. Los Angeles Times

Philly Cops Use Polygraph Tests for Applicants Despite High Failure Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sixty-three percent of finalists for Philadelphia Police Department positions fails polygraph tests but Commissioner Charles Ramsey will retain them as a screening device even though they are not perfect, Deputy Police Commissioner Patricia Giorgio-Fox tells the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Inquirer wrote about the case of applicant Greg Thomas, an investigator for the city court system who failed two polygraph questions and was rejected for a police job. Thomas was told he gave unbelievable denials to inquiries about whether he'd used, sold, or handled illegal drugs within the last five years and whether he'd committed a serious crime, caught or not. This year, Ramsey reinstated polygraph tests, which had not been used since 2002. Most big-city police departments use polygraphs for hiring, says George Maschke, a polygraph critic. New York City does not, nor do any departments in New Jersey. Maschke calls the tests "junk science," and says they measure anxiety, not deception. Nathan Gordon, director of the company that won the contract to test Philadelphia recruits, says his exams sort the perspiring from the lying. He says that industrywide, the tests are only 85 to 95 percent accurate. Philadelphia Inquirer

Perry's Death Penalty Record Termed a "Closed Process" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Austin Chronicle takes a detailed look at Texas Gov. Rick Perry's record on capital punishment. Blocking legislation - directly or behind the scenes - is one facet of what criminal justice practitioners say is Perry's leadership style on the issue. "The cues to his leadership style are in the few moments where he executed a role that is unusual," says University of Texas Law Prof. Jordan Steiker, such as vetoing a bill that would have blocked executions of the mental retarded or in commuting one death sentence. Otherwise, says Maurie Levin, a veteran death penalty attorney who, with Steiker, directs the university's Capital Punishment Clinic, it is hard to know much at all about Perry and his role in the clemency process - and that itself is disturbing. "Another hallmark of [Perry's] administration is the number of people executed ... and the way in which he has made this a completely closed process," Levin says. "Whereas under (George W.) Bush we were able to see" more clearly how decisions were made, she says, "Perry decided that was going to be a closed process." Austin Chronicle

DOJ Running 17 Law Enforcement Civil-Rights Probes: Most Ever ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Obama administration is stepping up civil rights enforcement against local police nationwide, opening, investigations to determine whether officers are guilty of brutality or discrimination against minorities. the Washington Post reports. In recent months, the Justice Department has begun inquiries into major city police departments like Portland, Or., where officers shot several people who had mental health issues, and Seattle, where police were accused of gunning down a homeless Native American woodcarver. The department issued a scathing report this month accusing Puerto Rico police of a "staggering level of crime and corruption.'' Justice's Civil Rights Division is conducting 17 probes of police and sheriff departments - the largest number in its 54-year history. The investigations are civil, meaning they will not lead to criminal charges, but can result in court-enforced reforms. The effort has won praise from advocacy groups and experts on police brutality. "This is long overdue,'' said Deborah Vagins of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The Bush administration beyond dropped the ball. These are some of the most egregious situations, places where we have killings committed by officers.'' Washington Post

California School for Delinquents Closes, Only 3 Remain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last week, 23 inmates at California's Jack B. Clarke High School, within the locked gates of a state youth correctional facility, were the last graduates to receive diplomas at the school, which is closing at year's end due to state budget cuts, the Los Angeles Times reports. "This is the place where I learned I could change if I wanted to," said one graduate who has been in detention for 5 years after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. It will be the third such facility to close since 2009. Shuttering the facility will save the state about $44 million annually. It is part of a continuing overhaul of California's juvenile justice system, which has seen the number of youths in state facilities decline to about 1,200 from more than 10,000 in the mid 1990s. Except for those who commit the most serious and violent crimes, youthful offenders are now housed in county facilities, closer to their families, which experts say aids their rehabilitation. Only three state juvenile justice facilities will remain. Los Angeles Times

UT Jail Loses Federal Detainees, Up to $1.6 Million Over Violations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Weber County, Ut., Jail faces a possible $1.6-million financial hit after losing the ability to house undocumented immigrants because staff failed to screen some new prisoners for tuberculosis, improperly viewed detainees naked during processing, and didn't check the jail's perimeter fence daily, among other problems, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. federal auditors found. The Tribune obtained the report through an open-records request. The feds' decision already has cost the county some $378,000, based on claims of having a daily detainee population averaging 80. A second audit found a series of similar violations, though officials took issue with many of those findings. This audit hammered the jail for not providing tuberculosis tests to detainees and noted that, in eight out of 10 medical charts reviewed by auditors, initial health screenings weren't reviewed by staff. Auditors also dinged the jail for not having a chronic care program in place and said those who did have those chronic medical conditions weren't seen regularly. Salt Lake Tribune

Federal Crackdown On WA Medical Pot Outlets Causes 50 to Close ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The largest federal crackdown in the 13-year history of Washington state's medical-marijuana law has sent Spokane's once-open medical-marijuana businesses diving deep underground, reports the Seattle Times. Most of the 50-some dispensaries abruptly closed. Those that remain are mostly word-of-mouth secrets. Contrast that to Seattle, where the city's embrace of medical marijuana encourages a flourishing business for storefront dispensaries, bakers, growers, and lawyers. An unofficial count, based on Seattle business licenses and advertising websites, finds at least 75 storefront dispensaries open, and more appearing weekly. Federal raids and indictments in Spokane, combined with a law muddled by Gov. Chris Gregoire's veto of a key bill earlier this year, leave a medical-marijuana law with two entirely different applications in different parts of the state. The two approaches by federal and state law enforcement may reflect divergent political priorities or workload, east and west. On both sides, the use of medical marijuana for suffering patients remains wildly popular; a December poll, commissioned by the ACLU of Washington, found four out of five voters in Eastern and Western Washington alike support it. Seattle Times

CA Lawmakers Send Brown Bill to Bar Open Gun Carrying ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California's legislature has sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill to bar Californians from openly carrying firearms, legislation that could open a new front in the state's decades-old gun control debate, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure, aimed at an increasingly popular tactic used by 2nd Amendment activists, would make California the first state since 1987 to outlaw the controversial practice of publicly displaying a weapon. The governor - a gun owner - has not taken an official position on the bill. He has argued both sides of gun control issues in the past. Existing law allows the open carrying of unloaded firearms. The measure before Brown would thwart activists who stage "open carry" demonstrations and want, ultimately, the right to legally display loaded guns. Such aficionados drew national attention last year when they walked into Starbucks outlets in the Bay Area and elsewhere, pistols holstered on their hips. Open-carry proponents say that the practice is harmless and that California lawmakers are pursuing an agenda to disarm the public. Los Angeles Times

New York Times Calls Federal Gun Reciprocity Bill "Outrageous" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times calls "outrageous" a proposal in the House to strip states of their authority to decide who may carry a concealed loaded firearm. Every state but Illinois makes some allowance for concealed weapons. The eligibility rules vary widely and each state decides whether to honor another state's permits. For example, 38 states prohibit people convicted of certain violent crimes like assault or sex crimes from carrying concealed guns. At least 36 states set a minimum age of 21; 35 states require gun safety training. The proposed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 would shred those standards, creating a locked-and-loaded race to the bottom in which states with strict requirements, like New York, would be forced to allow people with permits from states with lax screening to carry hidden loaded guns. The bill already has more than 240 co-sponsors, all but guaranteeing House passage. The Senate, which defeated a similar bill two years ago, should do so again, the Times editorializes. New York Times

Muslims Assail FBI for Critical Counterterror Training ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arab-American and Muslim groups have deplored the FBI's use of training material that characterized the prophet Muhammad as a "cult leader" and linked Muslims' religious devotion to a potential for violence, the New York Times reports. "It's really troubling," said Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Ayoub said the use of the material in counterterrorism training - first reported in a blog post on Wired.com - was only one of numerous cases in which training materials for law enforcement agencies have portrayed Islam or Arabs in a negative light. "The bigger question is how did this material get in there in the first place?" he said. "Do you not have rules or guidelines that will prevent this from happening?" In a training segment, "Militancy Considerations," posted on Wired's Web site, a chart correlated a steady level of violence with "adherence by pious and devout" to the Koran. In contrast, the chart showed violence decreasing with "adherence by pious and devout" to the Bible or to the Torah. The FBI said the training material "does not reflect the views of the FBI and is not consistent with the overall instruction provided to FBI personnel." New York Times