15 Nov 2011

Congress Saves COPS, Second Chance, Youth Justice Aid at Lower Levels ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Senate-House conference committee agreed last night to save major federal criminal justice programs including COPS community policing, the Second Chance law on prisoner re-entry, and juvenile justice aid, but at lower levels than last year. Congress is expected to approve the appropriations this week. COPS and Second Chance were endangered by votes in one house or the other to eliminate them. Federal aid for state and local anticrime grants under the Byrne JAG "formula" program would be funded at $352 million, down 17 percent from last year. For many programs, the reductions reflect a trend that could get worse as Congress considers debt-reduction plans. Under the agreement, COPS police hiring would be cut to $166 million this year, compared with $247 million last year. Second Chance funding would drop from $83 million to $63 million, and juvenile justice programs face a cut from $276 million to $263 million. The SCAAP program to subsidize states' incarcerating alleged illegal immigrants would be retained at $240 million, down from $274 million last year. Senate-House Appropriations Committees

NYC, Oakland Police Clear "Occupy" Protester Encampments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his decision to clear the park that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying "health and safety conditions became intolerable" in the park where the protesters had camped for nearly two months, the New York Times reports. "New York City is the city where you can come and express yourself," he said. "What was happening in Zuccotti Park was not that." He said protesters had taken over the park, "making it unavailable to anyone else." A court will hold a hearing today on a lawsuit challenging the eviction of protesters. Officials said nearly 200 people were arrested, most on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Yesterday in Oakland, Ca., hundreds of police officers raided the main Occupy encampment, arresting 33 people. Protesters returned later in the day. Police said no one would be allowed to sleep there anymore, and promised to clear a second camp nearby. New York Times

As With Anthony, Penn State Case Prompts Calls for Tougher Laws ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Legislators in several states are reacting to the Penn State child sex abuse scandal by proposing stricter child abuse reporting requirements, reports Stateline.org. Pennsylvania, reeling over allegations that a former Penn State football coach sexually molested at least eight boys over 15 years, could could change its child abuse reporting law before the end of the year, said Gov. Tom Corbett. A new law likely would require those who learn of child abuse to report the crime directly to police rather than to third parties, such as university officials. Two New York legislators are calling for the addition of university coaches and administrators to the list of people currently required to report child abuse to the police, says the Albany Times Union. A Maryland senator may propose criminal penalties for those required to report suspected child abuse but fail to do so. The Penn State scandal is the second time in four months that state legislators are responding to a high-profile case by vowing to create stricter reporting requirements for possible crimes against children. Proposals for tougher criminal penalties for failing to reporting a missing child were made after Casey Anthony was found not guilty in Florida for murdering her 2-year-old daughter. No one had reported Caylee Anthony missing for more than a month after her disappearance. Stateline.org

House Takes Up Disputed Bill On State Gun Permit Reciprocity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The House of Representatives will consider a bill today allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry handguns across state lines, reports the Daily Caller. A floor vote is expected on the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, a bill introduced by Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Shuler (D-NC). The legislation would allow those with permits to carry a concealed handgun in any state where concealed carry is not restricted. Forty nine states allow some form of concealed carry, but the training and requirements for obtaining a permit vary. The bill is poised to pass the Republican-controlled House: It has more than 245 co-sponsors, and it survived the markup process intact, despite numerous attempts by Democrats to amend it. National Rifle Association lobbyist Chris Cox says the current situation "presents a nightmare for interstate travel." The proposed law, he argued, "would solve this problem by simply requiring states that allow concealed carry to recognize each others' permits." Gun control advocates such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Mayors Against Illegal Guns say the legislation would erode the laws of states with stricter gun controls. The Brady Campaign said the bill should be called the "packing heat on your street bill," and Mayors Against Illegal Guns called it "a race to the bottom." Daily Caller

Few States Send Mental Records to Gun Background-Check Database ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The mentally ill can buy guns with alarming ease because nearly 90 percent of states don't forward all mental health records to a national database that is used to run background checks on firearms purchasers, says a report from the anti-gun advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns quoted by the New York Daily News. It showed that 23 states submitted fewer than 100 mental health histories to the National Instant Criminal Background Check. The study found that another 17 states submitted fewer than ten mental health histories, and 4 submitted none at all.The database has blocked more than 1.6 million gun-permit applications and sales to felons since it was created in 1999. Though a judge found Virginia Tech shooter Seung Hui Cho to be mentally ill two years before his 2007 rampage, that information never made it into the database. Cho was able to pass several background checks to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people and then end his life. The massacre prompted passage of a federal law that gives states enticements to send stats on mental health and drug abuse information to the database. New York Daily News

Parole Supervision Helps Cut Recidivism: Montana Study ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a study of Montana ex-inmates, researchers found that offenders released early from prison without parole supervision are more likely to recidivate than those freed with parole supervision. Kevin A. Wright of Arizona State University and Jeffrey W. Rosky of the University of Central Florida believe that offenders who are released early are more likely to recidivate because they are not adequately prepared for reentry into the community. The study was published in Criminology & Public Policy, which is available only by subscription or to members of the American Society of Criminology. Montana offenders released from prison on traditional parole supervision are required to have a detailed parole plan that includes housing and employment. The authors argue that given current pressures on correctional systems to reduce their budgets, it is unwise to do away with early release procedures. They say attention should be paid to the transition between prison and community reentry. In the same issue, Faye Taxman of George Mason University and Susan Turner of the University of California, Irvine, argue that correctional practitioners should look beyond the basic risk-assessment model of release and focus more on a client-centered approach, like the healthcare field. Journalists who want access to the papers should send a message to tgest@sas.upenn.edu. Criminology & Public Policy

Hate Crime Reports to Police At Same Level From 2009 To 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The FBI's hate-crime compilation for last year found 6,628 incidents, about the same as the 6,604 reported in 2009. The incident total included 8,208 victims, which encompass individuals, businesses, institution or "society as a whole," the FBI says. Some 43.7 percent of "single-bias" incidents were motivated by race, 20 percent by religion, 19.3 percent by sexual orientation, 12.8 percent by ethnicity/national origin bias, and .6 percent by physical or mental disability. A reported 4.824 offenses were crimes against persons and there were 2,861 reported crimes against property. Of the 6,008 known offenders, 58.6 percent were white and 18.4 percent were black. FBI

Tale of Innocent Detroit Man Killed: "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Detroit community where DeMonté Thomas lived and died, friends walked from door to door carrying buckets to raise $6,000 to bury him, says the Detroit Free Press in the second of a series on local killings. The newspaper says Thomas "was every young person's brother and every older person's son." He was killed going to get his weekly haircut. Investigators believe the barber was the intended target. Thomas was the 131st person killed last year, one of 3,313 killed in the city since January 2003. Though Thomas, 24, died under unusual circumstances, he fit the profile of most murder victims in Detroit: young, male, and black. Of the 3,184 murder victims from 2003 through June 30, 88% were black; 86% were male. The average age was 32. Thomas "was a good young man," said police investigator LaTonya Brooks. "People in the neighborhood spoke highly of him. Basically wrong place, wrong time." Detroit Free Press

New Mexico Fines GEO Group $1.1 Million for Understaffing Prison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Florida-based GEO Group will pay New Mexico $1.1 million in penalties for not adequately staffing a private prison it operates in Hobbs, N.M., says the New Mexican in Santa Fe. GEO also has agreed to spend $200,000 over the next year to recruit new correctional officers for the Hobbs facility. By contract, New Mexico can penalize GEO and Corrections Corp. of America, the two firms that operate the private facilities, when staffing vacancies are at 10 percent or more for 30 consecutive days. The settlement represents the first time in years - possibly ever - that New Mexico has penalized the out-of-state, for-profit companies for not adequately staffing the facilities they operate. The issue has come up in the past, but state officials said New Mexico had never levied penalties for understaffing issues. Last year, when state lawmakers were struggling to find ways to close a yawning state budget gap, a committee estimated Gov. Bill Richardson's administration had skipped $18 million in penalties by not assessing penalties against the two firms for inadequate prison staffing levels. GEO, headquartered in Boca Raton, Fl., reported $1.2 billion in earnings and $58.8 million in profit through the first nine months of this year. Santa Fe New Mexican

New AZ Senator Seeks Moderate Approach to Immigration Reform ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona's newest state senator, Jerry Lewis, is taking the national stage as an advocate for a moderate approach to immigration reform, reports the Arizona Republic. After defeating Senate President Russell Pearce in last week's recall election, Lewis, a Republican, made clear he is intent on reversing what he has called Arizona's dismal image on civil-rights and immigration issues. Joining other advocates of immigration reform, Lewis participated in a national teleconference to mark the Nov. 11, 2010, adoption of a document called the Utah Compact, which advocates a more humane approach to immigration issues. The compact -- endorsed by political, business and religious leaders in Utah -- says the nation must find ways other than strict enforcement to deal with people in the U.S. illegally but working productively. It says immigration is a federal problem requiring federal solutions, local police should focus on serious crime rather than civil immigration violations. It also encourages policies that keep families together, recognizes immigrants' contributions to the economy, and says immigration policy should be based on the principles of a free society. Arizona Republic

St. Louis Officers Try to Block DNA Collection Without Policy on Use ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The St. Louis Police Officers' Association filed a grievance and expects to sue this week to stop the department from collecting DNA samples from police officers, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "This is a shockingly alarming practice," said Jeff Roorda, the association's business manager. Police Chief Dan Isom said the department has been collecting voluntary DNA samples from officers for years to eliminate them from crime scene samples. In recent months, the department has increased its efforts to collect DNA, saying that as technology advances, the chances of crime scene contamination also increase. Eliminating DNA found at crime scenes by matching it to an officer's DNA on file can help bolster prosecutions by eliminating reasonable doubt, Isom says. Roorda said officers aren't necessarily opposed to submitting their DNA, but the members do not want to do so without guarantees about how the DNA will be handled. "Officers have a right to privacy, and there are too many unanswered questions because the department has not met its responsibility of the contract to establish a written policy," Roorda said. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

MS-13 Turns to Sex Trafficking in Washington, D.C., Suburb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The MS-13 gang got its start among immigrants from El Salvador in the 1980s. Since then, reports NPR, the gang has built operations in 42 states, where members typically deal in drugs and weapons. In the Washington, D.C., suburb of Fairfax County, Va., one of the nation's wealthiest places, authorities have brought five cases in the past year that focus on gang members who have pushed women, sometimes very young women, into prostitution. "We all know that human trafficking is an issue around the world," says Neil MacBride, the top federal prosecutor. "We hear about child brothels in Thailand and brick kilns in India, but it's something that's in our own backyard, and in the last year we've seen street gangs starting to move into sex trafficking." One MS-13 member nicknamed "Sniper" recently was sent to prison for the rest of his life. Another will spend 24 years behind bars for compelling two teenage girls to sell themselves for money. Usually, investigators say, gang members charge between $30 and $50 a visit, and the girls are forced into prostitution 10 to 15 times a day. It's easy money for MS-13 - thousands of dollars in a weekend, with virtually no costs. Often, the activity takes place at construction sites, in the parking lots of convenience stores and gas stations. NPR