Articles for 17 November

In a Shift, Feds Urge More Discretion in Immigrant Deportations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a sweeping change, federal immigration enforcement is shifting toward faster deportations of convicted criminals and fewer deportations of many illegal immigrants with no criminal record, reports the New York Times. The Department of Homeland Security is beginning a review of all deportation cases before the immigration courts and will start a nationwide training program for enforcement agents and prosecuting lawyers. The accelerated triage of the court docket - about 300,000 cases - is intended to allow severely overburdened immigration judges to focus on deporting foreigners who committed serious crimes or pose national security risks, Homeland Security officials said. It is part of a policy announced in June to encourage immigration agents to use prosecutorial discretion when deciding whether to pursue a deportation. The policy would scale back deportations of illegal immigrants who were young students, military service members, elderly people or close family of American citizens, among others. While the announcement raised expectations in immigrant communities, until now the policy has been applied sporadically. New York Times

Justice Department Launches 'Pattern' Probe of Miami PD Shootings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Justice Department will investigate whether Miami police violated the constitutional rights of seven black men who were shot to death by officers over a recent eight-month span, raising tensions in the inner city and sparking demands for an independent review, reports the Miami Herald. The civil investigation - known as a "pattern and practice'' probe - will examine Miami police policies and training involving deadly force. The goal: to determine if systemic flaws made shootings of black men more likely, rather than unfortunate, last-choice actions, as the officers' supporters maintain. The investigation was announced Thursday in Miami. "Oh, that's great, great, really good," said Sheila McNeil, whose unarmed son Travis McNeil, 28, was shot to death in his car in Little Haiti Feb. 10 by Officer Reinaldo Goyo. The officer said McNeil was driving erratically. No weapon was ever found. "I'm just glad to know it's not forgotten,'' McNeil said. But Nathaniel Wilcox, executive director of the advocacy group PULSE, criticized federal authorities for not opening a criminal investigation into the shooting deaths, which occurred from July 2010 to February 2011. Miami Herald

Despite New DNA Evidence, Some Prosecutors Cling to Convictions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times reports on the resistance mounted by a minority of prosecutors around the country in the face of exculpatory DNA evidence in criminal prosecutions. For most prosecutors, the presence of post-conviction DNA evidence is enough to prompt action. An examination of 194 DNA exonerations found that 88 percent of the prosecutors joined defense lawyers in moving to vacate the convictions. But in 12 percent of the cases, the prosecutors opposed the motions, and in 4 percent, they did so even after a DNA match to another suspect. Hundreds of people in the United States have been cleared by DNA evidence over the last two decades, in some cases after confessing to crimes, often in great detail. Juveniles, researchers have found, are more likely to make false confessions. Four of the five teenagers who were convicted in the brutal 1989 rape of Trisha Meili, known as the Central Park jogger, for example, confessed to the rape but were later exonerated when DNA evidence confirmed another man's involvement. New York Times

L.A. County Has Sent Problem Sheriff's Deputies to Work in Jails ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For years, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department transferred problem deputies to lockups as a way of keeping them from the public, reports the Los Angeles Times. Other deputies were allowed to remain working in the jails after being convicted of crimes or found guilty of serious misconduct. Among them was a deputy who beat a firefighter bloody and unconscious during an off-duty incident, and another who allegedly threatened to stab a bar bouncer. The backgrounds and conduct of deputies working in the jails have come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid revelations that some employees have beaten inmates, smuggled in contraband, and falsified reports. The cases offer a window into how the Sheriff's Department has managed its jails, and offer more ammunition to critics who have asked Sheriff Lee Baca to use more experienced, better qualified deputies in the jails. "This is shocking and a total aberration for the profession," said David Bennett, a criminal justice consultant who has been hired by jails. Los Angeles Times

Some See High Risk in Escapes from MA Minimum-Security Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An escape from a minimum-security Massachusetts prison last April by a man who went on a deadly shooting spree in Springfield has raised questions about the risk that such facilities pose, reports the Boston Globe. The alleged killer, Tomik Kirkland, was serving a 2 ½-to-4-year sentence on gun charges related to a 2008 murder attempt. Some wonder why he was housed in a prison without walls that made it easy for him to slip out an unbarred window. The paper says all but two of the 73 prisoners who have escaped from Massachusetts prisons since 2000 have come from similar facilities that lack fences or walls around the perimeter, even though they hold fewer than 15 percent of all state inmates. Twenty escapees remain at large, and at least four others were accused of new crimes while they were free. Defenders of minimum-security prisons say the Springfield killing should not overshadow the value of these facilities as training grounds for life after prison. Research shows that inmates released from minimum security are less likely to commit future crimes than those released from higher-security prisons. Boston Globe

Report: Federal Financial Fraud Prosecutions Drop to 20-Year Low ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Financial criminals are facing the lowest number of federal prosecutions in at least 20 years, reports the Los Angeles Times. The government has filed 1,251 new prosecutions against financial institution fraud so far this fiscal year, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. If the same pace holds, federal attorneys will file 1,365 such cases by the end of the year -- the lowest number since at least 1991. The report, compiled from Justice Department data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, considers crimes involving crooked mortgage brokers, bank executives with something to hide and accounts hiding illegal activity. The expected volume of prosecutions by the end of 2011 would be 2.4% smaller than that of last year, 28.6% thinner than that of five years ago and less than half the amount from a decade ago. The number of federal bank fraud cases has slipped every year since 1999. Los Angeles Times

Tennessee Legislators Warn Judges to Shape Up--Or Else ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The commissions that nominate, evaluate and discipline Tennessee's judges were all scrutinized at a legislative hearing this week that set the stage for an expected fight next year over the future of the state's judiciary, reports the Tennessean. The Government Operations Joint Subcommittee on Judiciary and Government met Tuesday to discuss whether to retain the Court of the Judiciary, the Judicial Nominating Commission and the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission or let them expire. Members made it clear that a broad restructuring will be on the table when the full General Assembly reconvenes in January. The Court of the Judiciary, which investigates ethical complaints against judges and determines discipline, received most of the committee's attention. Lawmakers from both parties warned Court of the Judiciary officials that if they don't change their processes, the General Assembly will do it for them. The hearing featured testimony from several people who complained of mistreatment by Tennessee judges. "Judges, you better get your house in order because we're going to do it for you if you can't," Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, warned after listening to testimony from disgruntled litigants. Tennessean

Bodies Pile Up as St. Louis Heroin Epidemic Enters Fourth Year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ St. Louis is in the fourth year of a heroin epidemic that is killing in numbers that law enforcement and medical examiners say they have never seen before, reports the city's Post-Dispatch. To provide a glimpse of those affected, the Post-Dispatch reviewed heroin-related deaths that occurred in St. Louis and Madison counties during an 18-month period beginning in January 2010, when the epidemic was kicking into high gear. In that period, 99 people in St. Louis County and 30 in Madison County died of heroin overdoses, according to medical examiner records. The typical victim was an unmarried, 33-year-old white man. The oldest to die was 57, the youngest 17. Almost 85 percent were white. Thirty-two were women. At least 14 were married. At least a third were parents, often of young children. Some, such as Seebeck, came from supportive families who felt helpless against the drug's powerful pull on their loved one. The dead included laborers, college students and military veterans. There was a steel worker, a hair dresser, a youth baseball coach and a paramedic. There was a nurse, a mechanic, a baker, a sous chef, an adult dancer. Others were unemployed or operated on the fringes of society, scraping by on the charity of strangers, friends and - if they hadn't alienated them with their drug use - family. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Reports Finds High Unemployment, Recidivism Among DC Ex-Cons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new report says that half of the roughly 8,000 people behind bars who have served their time and are released in Washington, D.C., will be locked up again within three years, reports the Washington Examiner. The report by the Council for Court Excellence, an ex-convict advocacy group, says one factor in this high recidivism is the inability of parolees to find a job that pays the bills. Nearly half of the city's 60,000 ex-cons are unemployed. The report also found that half of those who received education and training while incarcerated said those benefits helped them find a job after release. But the group's survey of 550 ex-convicts revealed no difference in the employment rate of those who received an educational certificate and those who didn't. Washington Examiner

Cities Shared Occupy Wall Street Tips in Conference Calls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Officials from nearly 40 cities are using phone conference calls to share ideas on how to deal with Occupy Wall Street protests, reports the Associated Press. The best conventional wisdom now suggests that cities should not set public deadlines for eviction because that serves to rally the demonstrators. Ultimatums likewise only seem to incite protestors. And cities that have managed to disassemble encampments suggest that parks be fenced off to prevent a new occupation. As concerns over safety and sanitation grew at the encampments over the last month, officials commiserated over how best to deal with the leaderless movement. From Atlanta to Washington, D.C., officials talked about how authorities could make camps safe for protesters and the community. Officials also learned about the kinds of problems they could expect from cities with larger and more established protest encampments. The Police Executive Research Forum organized calls on Oct. 11 and Nov. 4. Associated Press

Federal Report Says Homicide Rate Has Ebbed to Four-Decade Low ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the homicide rate in the United States is at its lowest level in four decades. The largest decline was in big cities, where the rate dropped from nearly 36 homicides per 100,000 residents in 1991 to 12 per 100,000 in 2008. The nationwide rate during that same period fell from an all-time high of 9.8 homicides per 100,000 in 1991 to 4.8 in 2010. The report analyzes homicide trends and provides profiles of victims and perpetrators. It says most murders are intra-racial. The victimization rate for blacks was six times higher than for whites, while the offending rate for blacks was almost eight times higher than the rate for whites. The number of homicides known to be caused by gang violence has quadrupled since 1980. The Crime Report

Expert Sees a New Era of Homeland Security Policing Across the U.S. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. era of community policing is being transformed into an age of "homeland security policing," says criminologist MoonSun Kim of the State University of New York Brockport. Speaking at the American Society of Criminology, which is holding its annual convention in Washington, D.C., Kim said he based his conclusion on an analysis of data collected by the U.S. Justice Department from law enforcement agencies around the nation in 1999, 2003, and 2007. Kim looked at various factors, including the kind of training police officers were undergoing before and after the September 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. Considering funding limitations to law enforcement these days, the "economies of scale" cannot support both traditional community policing and new forms of homeland security policing with equal force, Kim said. Perhaps reflecting Kim's analysis, a larger proportion of the 800-plus sessions at the criminology meeting seem to be focused on terrorism issues than in the past. Crime & Justice News