February 17, 2012 Today's Stories |
| Milwaukee Burglary Rise Tied to Metal Prices, Foreclosures ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much crime in Milwaukee is declining, but burglaries, auto thefts, robberies, and arson increased last year, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Violent crimes are down more than 23 percent in five years, with burglary a clear exception, up 6.5 percent last year. Police attributed the uptick in burglaries and auto thefts to historically high scrap metal prices, which have led thieves to target abandoned and foreclosed homes. "(Burglaries) may be up 6 percent compared to last year, but it's 11% over our five-year trend," said Police Chief Ed Flynn. That means something to us. I'm not someone that believes that when the economy goes bad, suddenly factory workers become robbers. But I do believe that if new markets exist, they create a condition in which more people will go into an illegal activity they don't perceive necessarily there's a victim. We all know the devastating impact an abandoned house that's been ripped up and gutted apart can have on a neighborhood's stability, so there are victims of that crime." Mayor Tom Barrett said the burglaries into vacant buildings ties directly into the mortgage and foreclosure crisis nationwide, and that more money is needed to tear down those buildings. |
| National Database Assesses Campus Policies On Sex Assault ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do colleges and universities have at least one full-time person working on campus sex-assault? May rape survivors report attacks confidentially and/or anonymously? Does the school's policy cover the sex assault of a man? Is emergency contraception available in the school health center? These are the questions that students across the country are answering through the Campus Accountability Project, an open-access database designed for students, applicants and parents, reports Women's eNews. The database finds plenty of schools failing to present friendly survivor policies. Of about 250 schools now in the database, 19 don't cover the cost of counseling after a sexual assault or rape, including such well-known universities as University of California-Berkeley and Cornell University. Only 30 offer victims amnesty from punishment for offenses surrounding the assault, such as violating school policy against underage drinking. The fear of being punished for such offenses is considered a major deterrent to bringing a report. The database is produced by a partnership between Students Active for Ending Rape, or SAFER, based in New York City, and V-Day, whose One Billion Rising campaign invites one billion women and their loved ones -- representative of female survivors of sexual violence worldwide -- to gather and dance on V-Day's 15th anniversary, February 14, 2013. |
| AZ Prisons, Under Fire On Health Care, Face Questionable Choice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Arizona Department of Corrections, under orders to privatize its troubled prison health-care system, faces a questionable choice, says the Arizona Republic. The department is expected soon to award a three-year contract to provide medical and mental-health care for the nearly 34,000 inmates in Arizona's 10 state-run prisons. The state must choose between two companies with checkered records and a third company that has no track record in correctional health care. Corizon Inc. of Brentwood, Tn., a privately held company, is the country's largest provider of correctional medical care, operating at 400 prisons and jails in 31 states, with a total prison population of about 400,000. Corizon formed last June from a merger of fierce rivals, both of which repeatedly ran into problems providing adequate health care in other states. As soon as next week, a legal coalition representing Arizona inmates is expected to file suit alleging that the state has systematically and unconstitutionally denied medical care to inmates for weeks or months even for severe, life-threatening conditions. |
| The Gray Box: A Look Inside U.S. Solitary Confinement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The box is the common the name for the solitary confinement cell where as many as 80,000 U.S. prisoners live in seclusion. A new multi-media report by the Dart Society offers an intimate portrait of the men who live in those cells, often confined 23 hours a day to a cell the size of two queen-sized mattresses. Some stay for a few weeks. Others, for decades. "It's a wasteland," says one inmate. "The gray box is a wasteland." The investigation by Denver-based journalist Susan Greene includes interviews with inmates, prison officials and advocates, for an unusually human look at criminal justice policy. Greene's report won an award this month from the Sidney Hillman Foundation. |
| Jury Selection to Begin In First Trial of Catholic Official In Sex Abuse Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jury selection is to start next week in the case of Monsignor William Lynn, formerly the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's point person for allegations of clerical abuse, NPR reports. "He willingly oversaw numerous reports of child sex abuse," says Cardozo law Prof. Marci Hamilton. "And he willingly put these men in positions where they had second, third, fourth opportunities to abuse children in new settings." In most cases, the statute of limitations barred criminal charges. two cases have not expired, and prosecutors say Lynn criminally endangered two young men, allegedly raped when they were 10 and 14, by looking the other way. Although other senior Catholic officials have been criminally charged for allegedly covering up sex abuse claims, Lynn is the first to go to trial. "Church people are watching this around the country very, very closely," says Nicholas Cafardi, dean emeritus and law professor at Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh. |
| Seattle Prosecutor Quits; Rebuked for Telling Jury of "Black Folk Code" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A longtime senior Seattle prosecutor who went on leave after being rebuked by the state Supreme Court for using racially charged language during a 2007 murder trial has resigned, reports the Seattle Times. Last year, the Supreme Court found that James Konat had engaged in "prosecutorial misconduct" in questioning witnesses during the 2007 trial of Kevin Monday, who was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree assault, and sentenced to 64 years in prison. During the trial, Konat questioned witnesses, many of them black, about a purported street "code" that he claimed prevented some from talking to the police. Konat referred to police as the "PO-leese." During his closing argument to jurors, Konat said that while witnesses denied the presence of such a code, "the code is black folk don't testify against black folk. You don't snitch to the police." The Supreme Court overturned Monday's conviction and awarded the man a new trial. Monday is black; Konat is white. |
| Official TX Website Describes Border Violence; Feds Are Dubious ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Texas Department of Agriculture website, ProtectYourTexasBorder.com, publicizes assertions by farmers and others that violence from Mexico's drug war has spilled over the border, reports the New York Times. It has a more political mission as well: to challenge the Obama administration, which has called the belief that the border is overrun by violence from Mexican drug cartels "a widespread misperception." The Texas site paints a frightening portrait of life along the 1,254-mile border that Texas shares with Mexico. One man talks about quitting the farming business for fear for his family's safety. There are police reports and news accounts of a ranch foreman getting injured by shattered glass after drug-smuggling suspects shot at his truck, vehicles being pursued by law enforcement crashing through farm fences, and workers clearing trees being told to stop what they were doing or else. "We need to be careful not to overstate it, but similarly we need to be careful not to understate this problem," said Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "The Mexican cartels are the most significant organized crime threat in Texas. This is not a political issue. This is a crime issue." |
| U.S. Goes Overboard in Forefeiture Case Vs. MA Motel: Wash. Post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Washington Post criticizes the U.S. Justice Department for trying to seize the Motel Caswell near Boston via an asset forfeiture proceeding. The hotel owner is not accused of criminal wrongdoing but of being the scene of at least 100 drug investigations since 1994. For owners not accused of a crime, federal seizure of assets is undue punishment, asserts a Post editorial. Local law enforcement groups that team up with the federal government may be awarded up to 80 percent of the proceeds from seizures. The Institute for Justice, which represents the motel owner, says such "equitable sharing" payments from the federal government to states have increased dramatically in recent years, from $200 million in 2000 to roughly $400 million in 2008. There are better alternatives to address legitimate public safety goals in cases like this, the Post says. Most jurisdictions have nuisance laws that can be used to force owners to literally and figuratively clean up their properties. |
| MA's Coakley Hails Crackdown on Johns; Hookers Object ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is pressing for huge fines and even jail time for johns under a sweeping new human-trafficking law - but some online hookers tell the Boston Herald they aren't victims and don't need the government doing them any favors. The law, effective Sunday, is largely aimed at protecting child prostitutes but also hits adult hookers' clients with fines of up to $5,000 and up to 21⁄2 years behind bars, as part of a broad crackdown aimed at snuffing out prostitution by turning up the heat on both pimps and end-users of the illicit trade. Women of the night are treated as victims of human trafficking, still facing the same misdemeanor charges but with new rights to sue those who exploited them. "The penalties we've had have been far too low," Coakley told the Herald. "All we've done by the increase is make them appropriate for the kinds of offenses we're talking about." One high-priced online hooker said she's no victim - and she doesn't know any women who are. "If you are an escort, you go into it of your own free will," she said. "Absolutely no one is forced into doing this. You don't have to be affiliated with any agency. I'm not forced to do anything I don't want." The new law calls for at least five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 for the new state crime of human trafficking for sexual servitude. |
| Starbucks Policy At Center of War Between Pro- , Anti-Gun Carriers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Starbucks has reiterated its stance that it won't prohibit customers from openly carrying guns into its stores in states that allow it, reports the Christian Science Monitor. On one hand, the stand is a reflection of law: 43 states permit open carry. Yet other companies - such as Peet's Coffee, IKEA, and California Pizza Kitchen post signs against open carry, even in states where it's allowed. The ubiquity and popularity of Starbucks makes the chain a far more powerful symbol for both sides of the issue. The National Gun Victims Council, which is leading a boycott, says Starbucks points to the need "to eliminate the risk of guns in public places and ultimately to bring sane gun laws to the US." Its boycott aims to "reduce Starbucks' stock price by an amount no rational company would allow." Gun-rights advocates are responding with a "buycott" to support the chain. A coalition of secular, religious, and gun-control groups backing the boycott claim to represent 14 million Americans. The ability of gun control groups to influence the lawmaking process has waned in recent years, with gun-rights legislation outnumbering gun-control laws by a 3-to-1 margin, says an Associated Press analysis. |
| California Probation Failures Drop Under Incentive Plan for Counties ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California's probation failure rate declined 23 percent in 2010 after a state law provided an incentive for counties to reduce such failures, says the Pew Public Safety Performance Project. The 2009 law awards counties that reduce the rate at which they send probationers to state prison by sharing 40-45 percent of the savings to the state from not housing revoked offenders. County probation departments are required to reinvest their share of the savings into evidence-based probation, defined as programs and practices that have been scientifically proved to reduce recidivism. Among changes being made by counties are use of risk and needs assessments to determine supervision levels and case plans, cognitive behavioral therapy for offenders, and the use of graduated sanctions and rewards to hold offenders accountable and encourage compliance with the terms of supervision, The California Department of Finance estimated that because of the reduction in revocations, 6,182 fewer probationers entered state prison in 2010, generating state savings of $179 million. |
| County Leader: Focus On Cutting Jail Populations as Well as Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many of the 64 percent of U.S. jail inmates who are awaiting trial could be safely released if sophisticated protocols were used to determine flight risk and danger to the community, speakers told a recent National Association of Counties symposium on justice and public safety in Atlanta, the association reports. Such statewide protocols have been developed in Minnesota and Ohio. Declining revenues and budget shortfalls have forced counties to make hard choices about funding needed services such as public safety, health care, and human services. Counties are seeking partnerships and smart initiatives to improve their criminal justice systems. Sebastian County, Ar., Judge David Hudson, chair of NACo's Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, said the U.S. criminal justice system is an intergovernmental system and "therefore, the solutions must also be intergovernmental." He noted that some states appear to be focused on lowering prison populations without sufficient regard to lowering jail populations. "It is simply inaccurate and ideological to focus only on the state role since it is just a part of the overall system," he said. |
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