21 Dec 2011

Police Spend Billions In U.S. Aid on Antiterror Equipment

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If terrorists ever target Fargo, N.D., the local police will be ready, says the Center for Investigative Reporting. They have bought bomb-detection robots, digital communications equipment and Kevlar helmets, like those used by soldiers in foreign wars. For local siege situations requiring real firepower, police there can use a new $256,643 armored truck, complete with a rotating turret. "Most people are so fascinated by it, because nothing happens here," said Carol Archbold, criminal justice professor at North Dakota State University. "There's no terrorism here."

Fargo, like thousands of other communities in every state, has been on a gear-buying spree with the aid of more than $34 billion in federal government grants since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The federal grant spending, awarded with little oversight from Washington, has fueled a rapid, broad transformation of police operations in Fargo and in departments across the country. More than ever before, police rely on quasi-military tactics and equipment. No one can say exactly what has been purchased in total across the country or how it's being used, because the federal government doesn't keep close track.

Center for Investigative Reporting


40% of Police Officers Suffer Sleep Disorders: New Harvard Study

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A serious lack of sleep may be a big problem among the nation's 700,000 police officers, reports NPR. In what's believed to be the first study on the subject, Harvard researchers queried nearly 5,000 municipal and state police officers in the U.S. and Canada about their sleep habits and symptoms of possible sleep disorders, and assessed their on-duty performance for two years.

Forty percent had sleep disorders, and the vast majority were undiagnosed before. Those who screened positive for a sleep disorder had a 25 percent higher risk of expressing uncontrolled anger to a suspect or citizen, and a 35 percent higher chance of having a citizen complaint filed against them. Sleep-deprived officers had 51 percent greater odds of falling asleep while driving on duty. One in three officers has sleep apnea - waking up repeatedly because breathing has temporarily stopped. That's at least 8 times higher than the rate among the general population. Sleep-starved officers reported falling asleep at meetings more often and calling in sick. The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

NPR


In "Major Change In Street Crime," Minneapolis Property Offenses Up

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While violent crime fell this year in Minneapolis, a rising number of burglaries and thefts have driven the overall crime level higher for the second year in a row, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Police say criminals are shifting from drug dealing to home break-ins. Auto thefts and robberies have also jumped downtown. "We're seeing a major change in street crime," Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said. "Burglaries are becoming the trade of people who want to make money quick."

Burglaries rose nearly 5 percent, from 4,590 last year to 4,816 so far this year with two weeks yet to go. Larcenies -- defined as thefts unconnected with break-ins or robberies -- are up more than 11 percent, from 6,905 last year to 7,688 this year. Fourth Precinct Inspector Mike Martin said burglars hit north Minneapolis especially hard following a May 22 tornado. Martin said changes in the drug trade have reduced the profit margins for small-time dealers. Youths who might have turned to selling drugs for quick money find it's more profitable to break into a house and steal electronics or jewelry.

Minneapolis Star Tribune


Justice System Cost $755 Annually Per U.S. Resident in 2007: BJS Report

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The U.S. justice system cost $228 billion annually to operate as of 2007, a 171 percent since 1982, after adjusting for inflation, says the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics in a newly released compilation. Because the data preceded the recession, they are likely to be down today in many categories. Between 2002 and 2007, public expenditures for criminal and civil justice remained flat.

The per capita justice system expenditure was $755 in 2007, a drop of 5 percent from 2002. �In 2007, 2.5 million persons were employed in the justice system, an increase of 93 percent from 1982. ƒƒBetween 1982 and 2002, federal justice system employment increased 115 percent; state, 118 percent; and local, 63 percent. ƒƒFederal employment increased from 7 percent of total justice employment in 1982 to 11 percent in 2007, while state employment increased from 27 percent to 31 percent, and local employment declined from 66 percent to 58 percent.

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics


Immigration Fastest Growing U.S. Arrest Offense In Recent Years

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Illegal immigration was the fastest growing federal arrest offense between 2005 and 2009, increasing an average rate of 23 percent each year, the Bureau of Justice Statistics said today. In 2009, 84,749 suspects were arrested and booked for immigration offenses, up from 38,041 in 2005.

During 2009, a record 183,986 suspects were arrested for federal offenses, up from 140,200 in 2005 and nearly double the 83,324 suspects arrested in 1995. Illegal immigration (46 percent) was the most common offense at arrest in 2009, followed by drug (17 percent) and supervision violations (13 percent). More than half (56 percent) of all federal arrests occurred in the five federal judicial districts along the U.S.-Mexico border: Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Western and Southern Texas. Of the 193,234 matters concluded by U.S. attorneys in 2009, two out of three involved immigration (46 percent) or drug (20 percent) offenses.

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics


Skepticism On Proposals to Bolster Child Abuse Reporting Laws

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After the Penn State sex abuse charges, several states want to expand the list of who's a mandated reporter - especially in places where coaches are not already included, NPR reports. Among the states with calls to expand required reporting or to stiffen penalties for those who fail to do so are California, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Connecticut, and Maryland. Former professional hockey player Sheldon Kennedy told a Senate committee he was sexually abused for years by a respected hockey coach, but adults around him who suspected never said a thing.

The proposed laws are being met with skepticism. Joette Katz, commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Children and Families, says. "Whether someone's a mandated reporter or not, you walk in and you see somebody sexually molesting a 10-year-old, you don't need a statute to tell you that that's a crime." She 30 percent of the calls to the agency's hotline already come from people who aren't mandated reporters. She worries that if everyone feels legally bound to report their suspicions, her case workers would get inundated with junk reports. Also, an investigation can be traumatic for children and their families. Robert Block, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, says it would be almost impossible to train every adult how to spot real child abuse cases.

NPR


Meth Use Down But It Plagues Depressed Rural Areas

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Methamphetamine has a tight grip on Jefferson County, south of St. Louis, Cpl. Timothy Whitney of the sheriff's department tells USA Today. The county leads the state in meth lab seizures - a sign, he says, of aggressive enforcement as well as the scope of its problem. Through Nov. 28, there were 6,915 seizures of meth labs, equipment and dumpsites nationwide this year; Missouri led all states with 1,744. So far this year, there have been 234 seizures in Jefferson County.

Meth continues to plague communities across the U.S. despite getting scant attention, says UCLA psychiatry professor Richard Rawson. "You'd think there's no meth problem, he says, but in many economically depressed rural areas it's still used "to cope with [ ] difficulty and poverty." Steven Shoptaw, a family medicine professor at UCLA, says the nation "is not yet past the chapter on methamphetamine." As the problem persists, he says, budget woes are shrinking resources to address the problem. "There's just an air of desperation that's out there," he says. Still, meth use is down, says the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released in September by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The number of people who said they had used meth in the past month fell from 731,000 in 2006 to 353,000 in 2010.

USA Today


Traffic Stops Not Routine; PA Officer Killed by Driver in License Check

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Police officers make countless traffic stops in their careers for offenses large and small. But never tell them they're routine, says the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. East Washington, Pa., police Officer John Dryer's death at the hands of a gunman with expired license plates underscores the danger that lies in every stop, fellow officers said. Dryer, 46, apparently stopped Eli Myers, 58, on Interstate 70 late Sunday because he could tell from the sticker on his filthy license plate that his registration was expired.

The officer followed protocol. He told 911 dispatchers to run the plate to see if the driver had any wants or warrants. He asked them to send a backup when, in his words, the driver started "getting mouthy." "He was doing the right things," said Officer David Wright, an instructor at the Pittsburgh police training academy, where recruits are told that vigilance is key when stopping a vehicle. A driver's "mouthy" tone, his furtive glance and fidgeting hands are subtle signs of trouble that officers must train to recognize. Fifty-seven of the 305 police officers killed in the line of duty between 2005 and 2010 died while conducting traffic stops, say FBI data.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


U.S. Pulls National Guard From Mexican Border, Boosts Aircraft Use

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Sophisticated surveillance aircraft will be deployed along the Southwest border in coming months to peer miles into Mexico and spot smugglers, drug traffickers and undocumented immigrants, reports the Houston Chronicle. The plan to operate high-tech aircraft with so-called "over the horizon" technology came to light as the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security announced the end of the 18-month-old deployment of 1,200 National Guard ground troops who have been helping the U.S. Border Patrol.

About 300 Guardsmen will be used to oversee the aerial operations. By using unmanned drones and aircraft operated by the so-called "citizen soldiers" of the National Guard, the Obama administration avoids diplomatic strains that might arise with Mexico if U.S. military surveillance aircraft flown by active duty armed forces' pilots were used along the common border.

Houston Chronicle


Sacramento Anti-Gang Plan "Paradigm Shift" Moves to Prevention

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In another sign that officials are shifting the way they go after gangs, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says his gang task force will turn much of its focus toward prevention and intervention tactics, reports the Sacramento Bee. Johnson said the task force would embark on a three-year gang prevention effort, putting less emphasis on enforcement strategies.

Some key elements of the strategy will be implemented by dozens of law enforcement officers set to be hired with federal grants this year. Other elements of the plan involve existing literacy and internship programs.The task force is copying gang prevention ideas that have been successful in other cities, including San Jose. The task force was formed after a community outcry when two people - including a young mother - were gunned down outside a barbershop. The anti-gang plan will represent "a paradigm shift," Johnson said. Most plans that tackle gang violence have "a heavy emphasis on incarceration and enforcement, and we don't want that to be the focus." Investing in school-based programs, developing strong connections between neighborhoods and law enforcement officers, job development programs, and regional collaboration among police agencies will make up the strategy.

Sacramento Bee


"Knowing" vs. "Reckless" Homicide: How Is a Juror to Decide?

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Someone convicted of a knowing homicide in Colorado is subject to a mandatory sentence of 16 to 48 years in prison. A reckless homicide brings a non-mandatory sentence of two to six years in prison. The problem, says a study by law and psychology professors reported by the National Law Journal, us that jurors may be unable to distinguish between knowing and reckless conduct, as defined by the Model Penal Code. The 50-year old code, adopted by most states, requires jurors to sort defendants into four categories of conduct: purposeful, knowing, reckless, and negligent.

Researchers conducted tests to gauge how well jurors identified those mental states and assigned punishment under varying degrees of exposure to the code's definitions. "Our results suggest, by and large, that people are pretty good at this," said Owen Jones, a law and biology professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network of Law and Neuroscience. "However, we were surprised by the apparent confusion between reckless and knowing." The study, Sorting Guilty Minds, is in the November New York University Law Review.

National Law Journal


NC Prosecutor Accuses Gov Of Favoring Murderers In Bill Veto

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A North Carolina district attorney, Rick Shaffer, has quit Gov. Bev Perdue's Crime Commission, saying she may have "helped unleash violent murderers back into society" by vetoing a bill that would repeal the state's Racial Justice Act, reports the Charlotte Observer. Shaffer told Perdue, "You no longer have any moral authority to suggest that you strongly support the death penalty."

Perdue has called the legislature into session Jan. 4 to consider overriding her veto. The Senate has enough votes to override the veto, but it is highly unlikely that the House has the necessary three-fifths majority to overcome it. The Senate bill would have halted the 2-year-old Racial Justice Act, which allows death-row inmates to use statistics to argue that their sentences should be converted to life without parole if they can convince a judge there was racial bias in their prosecution or sentencing. Perdue said in her veto message that she believes in capital punishment but wants to ensure it is administered fairly and free of racial bias.

Charlotte Observer