January 19, 2012 |
| Seven Chicago Teens Arrested In Viral Video Robbery, Beating Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It seems to defy logic, says the Associated Press: Criminals intentionally recording themselves on video beating and robbing someone, then posting it on YouTube so anyone anywhere can see it, including police. The latest example of this increasingly common phenomenon comes from Chicago, where police arrested seven teens who apparently did just that. Their video had gone viral. It may be a modern twist on the age-old penchant for boasting about one's exploits to impress the community and to warn rivals. "Medieval warriors putting the heads of their enemies on sticks, scalping and even school yard brawls in the `50s , they're all ways of displaying that dominance in public," said Pam Rutledge, who heads the Media Psychology Research Center in Palo Alto, Ca.. "These news tools , the Internet, YouTube , just let you spread the word much farther." Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said, "This is a national epidemic. It's not something that's particular to Chicago." |
| MO Chief Justice Urges Probation, Parole Fixes That Could Save Millions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Missouri Chief Justice Richard Teitelman has urged legislators to make changes to the state's probation and parole systems that potentially could save the state millions of dollars, reports the Associated Press. He favors measures to reduce the number of people in prison for probation and parole violations. "I support your efforts to help make sentencing practices more cost-effective, helping Missouri to become [ ] both tough and smart on crime," Teitelman told a joint session of the House and Senate. A group that included lawmakers, department heads and two judges recommended changes to Missouri's sentencing laws in a December report. Teitelman was not part of the group, but the Supreme Court was represented by former Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. The group said the state should shorten the length of probation and parole terms and allow people who violate their probation or parole to serve shorter jail sentences. Such violations accounted for more than 40 percent of all admission to Missouri prisons in 2010, with prisoners spending an average of 10 months behind bars. |
| Sheriff Assails MA Gov Plan to Build Inmate Assisted-Living Centers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick wants to build two to three assisted-living centers with bars for golden-ager inmates to serve their time in comfort, as part of an ambitious overhaul of the state's prison system due to be released today, the Boston Herald reports. The 400-page Corrections Master Plan was shown to sheriffs yesterday. It drew immediate criticism. "There's no question that the population in the prisons is aging, but prison is prison," said Bristol Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who said he'd rather see Patrick invest taxpayer money in programs to deter people from incarceration, rather than entice aging career criminals or any hard-luck residents into crime with the potentially alluring prospect of a comfortable retirement home and medical care. "(James) 'Whitey' Bulger killed 19 people," Hodgson said. "I can't imagine there being too much concern whether he gets assisted living or sits in his cell. No one's being heartless about this, but do you know how much assisted living costs these days? When we can't offer those things to a homeless veteran or someone on a fixed income who can't afford it, what do they do?" |
| L.A. Anti-Gang Leader Rice Describes "Jaw-Dropping Crime Reductions" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Los Angeles Police Department this month hosted a book party for one of its critics, Connie Rice, whose memoir is titled "Power Concedes Nothing: One Women's Quest for Social Justice in America, From the Kill Zones to the Courtroom." Guests lining up to have their books signed included police officers, police commissioners and city officials, as well as former gang members and long-time critics of the police department. In an interview with The Crime Report's Joe Domanick, Rice describes how local anti-gang programs "have resulted in jaw dropping crime reductions." She says, "When you do it and you do it efficiently to scale, you end up changing the physics of a community. That's not crime fighting. LAPD has never produced a 60 percent drop in gang homicides. That's the community, but we and the LAPD made the community safe enough to change itself and we brought in the gangs because they had so much control over those parks. We involved them in the activities and gave them jobs. The homicides plummeted because gang members aren't running around and shooting each other at 11 o'clock at night." |
| Drones Increasingly Used by U.S. Law Enforcement In Remote Areas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As many as 25 drone flights have been used by civilian law enforcement agencies in North Dakota, says The Crime Report. They reflect the growing trend of law enforcement agencies, particularly in rural areas, to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to help them police remote, hard-to-access areas. Drones have proved effective in Iraq and Afghanistan. But their civilian application has been met with mixed emotions since Congress authorized their use by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2005 to perform surveillance along the U.S.-Mexican Border for illegal immigrants, human trafficking and narcotics smuggling. A drone was first used by the Texas Department of Public Safety in 2009 to pre-empt a SWAT raid on a house outside Austin, but the technology has managed to stay off the radar screen until a Nelson County, N.D., raid in June 2011. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to have regulations governing their use in commercial airspace by the end of this month. So far, four police agencies have been approved to use UAVs: the Mesa County Sheriff's office in rural Colorado, Miami-Dade Police, Lane County Sheriff, Ore. and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Many law enforcement authorities consider drone surveillance technology an invaluable tool when there is limited manpower or the terrain is too remote or rugged to conduct land-based surveillance or search and rescue missions. |
| Hanes Heads Federal Juvenile Justice Agency; No White House Action ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Melodee Hanes has replaced Jeff Slowikowski as acting administrator of the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, suggesting that there probably will not be a presidential appointment for the agency any time soon, reports Youth Today. Slowikowski, who has worked at the agency since 1990, has been acting administrator since January 2009. The shake-up is due to Slowikowski's desire to leave the administrator position, said spokeswoman Starr Stepp. Hanes has since 2009 served as deputy administrator of policy for OJJDP, which funds state compliance with federal juvenile justice standards and also supports delinquency prevention, mentoring, child protection and the pursuit and assistance of missing and exploited children. Youth Today says Hanes inherits the reins at a tumultuous time for the agency, which took a $148 million cut in a 2011 spending deal last April. An immediate priority for Hanes will be the agency's relationship with states in regard to "formula" aid, which dropped to $40 million in 2012 from $75 million in 2010 and $62 million in 2011. Those funds are given to states in exchange for compliance with four requirements in the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. |
| Supreme Court Upholds Death Row Appeal In "Lawyer's Nightmare" Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court said an Alabama death row inmate should not be penalized for missing a crucial appeal deadline when the error was caused by his pro bono lawyers from New York's Sullivan & Cromwell, reports the National Law Journal. The 7-2 ruling in Maples v. Thomas brings an end to a "lawyer's nightmare" case that showed how a series of law firm mailroom and notice errors as well as the departure of two associates could nearly result in a client's execution. In excruciating detail, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recited the "uncommon facts" and mishaps that amounted to abandonment of convicted murderer Cory Maples by his Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers at the precise moment when Maples faced a filing deadline for his state post-conviction appeal. Abandoned by counsel, Maples was left unrepresented at a critical time for his state postconviction petition, and he lacked a clue of any need to protect himself pro se," wrote Ginsburg. "In these circumstances, no just system would lay the default at Maples' death-cell door." I The case returns to lower courts for a hearing on whether the error prejudiced his case, after which the merits of his ineffective assistance claim could be considered. |
| S.F. Sheriff's Case Shows Dilemma of Domestic Violence Victims: Experts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi faces arraignment today on three misdemeanor charges related to alleged domestic violence, many are wondering why his wife is standing firmly by his side. The San Francisco Chronicle says it's very common for victims of domestic abuse to refuse to report the crime or cooperate with the police or district attorney. Experts cite a number of reasons, including fear the violence will escalate if it's reported, financial reliance on the abuser, worry over a custody battle for children, having nowhere else to live - or simply holding out hope the relationship will improve. Mirkarimi's wife, Eliana Lopez - who moved to San Francisco from her native Venezuela after becoming pregnant - faces an even more daunting scenario. "Not only is he in law enforcement and very politically connected, but she's from another country, she doesn't speak the language fluently, she doesn't have family support here or political connections," said Minouche Kandel, an attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid who specializes in domestic violence cases. "She's in the middle of this very public maelstrom," Kandel continued. "I'm sure one of her worst fears has come true." Domestic violence experts said Lopez's actions mirror what they see from hundreds of people they serve every year. |
| Numbers Seeking Domestic Violence Shelter in Orlando Hit Record ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although the number of domestic-violence murders in Orlando's Orange County dropped slightly in 2011, those seeking shelter and protection from abusive partners reached record numbers, the Orlando Sentinel reports. No one can say for sure what fueled those increases, but advocates, law enforcement and legal experts say it's a good sign. Advocates for domestic-violence victims hope that an increase in awareness and a stronger push toward community education has led more people to agencies that can help. Harbor House of Central Florida provided emergency shelter to 1,007 men, women and children last year, which is up slightly from 2010, said Chief Executive Officer Carol Wick. The 2011 total is nearly double what it was five years ago, when 620 people sought emergency shelter. County courts got a record 5,173 injunction requests last year, about a 12 percent increase. The Orange Sheriff's Office and Orlando Police Department saw an 8.5 percent drop in reported domestic-violence incidents in 2011. "A lot of it [the decrease] has to do with education," said Cpl. Susan Soto of the Sheriff's Office. "More people are seeking help and walking away from the abuse." |
| Odds of Jared Loughner Insanity Defense Victory Rated As Low ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jared Loughner's best chance of avoiding conviction and a possible death penalty in last year's Tucson shootings will be if he is found incompetent to stand trial because of his mental illness, says the Arizona Republic. The odds are against that happening: Most criminal defendants are found competent to stand trial, especially in high-profile cases. The next-best hope for the man accused of last year's mass shooting near Tucson is to mount an insanity defense, which, contrary to popular perception, is used in fewer than 1 percent of all criminal trials and is successful only about a quarter of the time it is used. "It's the biggest loser defense known to man," said Donna Elm, federal public defender for the Middle District of Florida. "It's so rare that the news goes through the entire defense community when someone wins one." Loughner, 23, is charged with 49 felonies arising from the Jan. 8, 2011, shootings outside a supermarket near Tucson where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with constituents. |
| Mexican Drug War Expands to Places Once Considered Safe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Mexican drug war is intensifying in interior and southern areas once thought clear of the carnage, broadening a conflict that has already overwhelmed the authorities and dispirited the public, reports the New York Times, citing analysts and new government data. Last week, two headless bodies were found in a smoldering minivan near one of Mexico City's largest and most expensive malls. Two other cities considered safe six months ago - Guadalajara and Veracruz - have experienced their own episodes of brutality: 26 bodies were left in the heart of Guadalajara late last year, and last month the entire Veracruz police force was fired after state officials determined that it was too corrupt to patrol a city where 35 bodies were dumped on a road in September. The spreading violence is believed to reflect a widening turf war between two big criminal organizations. |
| Bullets Fly As Illinois Police Conduct Drug Sting Near School ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A suburban Chicago police sting that ended with an officer shooting a drug-dealing suspect has prompted questions of public safety after the bullets flew near a school, reports the Chicago Tribune. Illinois State Police officials have started an investigation into the undercover operation, in which officers arranged a meeting Tuesday to sell cocaine to two suspects in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant just yards from a school that was in session at the time. "I'm upset the police would create a situation like that next to a school," said Monica Boutwell, whose 10-year-old daughter attends the school. "The drug dealers could have had weapons too, and it could have gotten ugly. They should have known that. Things don't always work out the way you plan." Authorities said the sting turned violent after undercover officers sold a kilogram of fake cocaine to the suspects in a McDonald's parking lot and then revealed their true identities. DePaul University law Prof. Leonard Cavise believes high-risk stings should be outlawed near schools. "They really should be prohibited from conducting an operation in public, high-traffic areas near children," he said. "It's just not worth it." |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
19 Jan 2012
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