03 April 2012

April 3, 2012   Today's Stories
7 Killed in California University Shooting by Former Nursing Student ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seven people died, and three more were wounded in the shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, Ca., a small Christian institution. The Oakland Tribune called it the Bay Area's worst mass killing in almost 20 years. Police arrested One Goh, 43, of Oakland, a Korean native and naturalized U.S. citizen. After the shooting, One drive a victim's car five miles to a supermarket, where he announced he had shot people. University president Pastor Jongin Kim said the shooter had previously been an Oikos nursing student but was no longer enrolled; he was unsure whether the shooter had been expelled or had dropped out voluntarily. Monday's body count was the area's worst since the July 1, 1993, massacre in San Francisco, when a gunman rampaged through two floors of a law office, killing eight victims before committing suicide. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said, "We'll have to question the availability of guns and the need for other services in our community." Oakland Tribune
CA Campus Shooting May Fit "Eerily Consistent Pattern"--Fox ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No matter how shocking and headline-grabbing, shooting rampages on college campuses are extremely rare, says criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University, writing for the Boston Globe. Certain themes that emerge time and time again in these tragic episodes, Fox says. Yesterday's case at Oakland's Oikos University, implicating a man of Asian descent who had failed to complete a degree in a professional field, is "eerily consistent with the pattern to earlier campus shootings with multiple victims," Fox writes. Some advanced students view their investment in reaching a successful outcome as a virtual life-or-death matter. Fox says that "this do-or-die perception can be intensified for foreign graduate students from certain cultures where failure is seen as shame on the entire family." Even if it emerges that the Oikos University shooter fits the mold, such rare events can't be anticipated, Fox says, urging continued efforts to keep concealed weapons far away from college campuses. Boston Globe
Brown Raising Millions for High-Tech Tools In Dallas Crime Hot Spots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dallas Police Chief David Brown wants to use the latest high-tech weapons to battle the crime hot spots, and supporters may raise millions to do it, says the Dallas Morning News. Brown would use "bundles" of technology including surveillance cameras, license plate readers, and GPS devices planted in cars, houses, and stores to snare criminals. Officials are likely to rely on $2.6 million in confiscated funds as well as several million in corporate or nonprofit donations. Charles Terrell of the anti-crime nonprofit Safer Dallas Better Dallas said the group has already helped raise $17 million for past projects, and that it would raise more for this initiative. The proposal comes as city leaders are pushing hard for a historic ninth consecutive year of overall crime decline. The full Morning News story is available only to subscribers. Dallas Morning News
Feds Raid Businesses, Home of CA Pot Advocate Richard Lee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dozens of federal agents raided the Oakland businesses and apartment of Richard Lee, California's most prominent advocate for the legalization and regulation of marijuana, carting away loads of pot and belongings but not revealing the purpose of their investigation, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The agents targeted Oaksterdam University, the internationally famous school Lee established to train people in the marijuana industry, a medical cannabis dispensary called Coffeeshop Blue Sky, and three properties being rented by Lee. The armed and sometimes masked agents from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Marshals Service came with a battering ram, a sledgehammer, power saws, and a locksmith. They left Oaksterdam University carrying numerous file boxes, a safe and black trash bags. From other downtown properties, agents carried away sacks with dozens of marijuana plants. "This is really an attack on regulation," said Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of the university. Without regulation, she said, "what's going to change is who is selling it, the good guys or the bad guys." San Francisco Chronicle
6 Cities Discuss Youth Violence, L.A. Mayor Touts Antigang Work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took issue with a study that said there was no evidence a multimillion-dollar anti-gang program had reduced crime, telling a youth violence summit in Washington, D.C., that Los Angeles is safer than any time since the 1950s, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Not since I was born has L.A. been this safe," Villaraigosa said. Representatives of six cities - Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, San Jose, and Salinas, Ca., - that form the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention are meeting to share their experiences. Villaraigosa said he wanted his program in Los Angeles to be a model for other cities. The Urban Institute, which was hired by the city to assess the program's progress, reported last year that there was no evidence that the gang reduction office was responsible for the decline in violent crime, and it said that people enrolled in gang prevention activities were no less likely to engage in "delinquent" or "gang-related" behavior. Villaraigosa rejected that analysis, calling the crime data "incontrovertible." he said there had been a 17 percent drop in gang crime since the program started. The Urban Institute study noted that gang-related crimes were declining before the mayor's programs began. Los Angeles Times
Amnesty Int'l: AZ Overuses Solitary Confirment on Mentally Ill, Kids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona's state prisons overuse solitary confinement in cruel, inhumane, and illegal ways, particularly for mentally ill prisoners and juveniles as young as 14, says an Amnesty International report quoted by the Arizona Republic. The group says Arizona uses solitary confinement as a punishment more than most other states or the federal government. Amnesty International found that some inmates are held in isolation for months and sometimes years. It called on the state to use the practice only as a last resort and only for a short duration. The state said that 3,130 inmates, or 8 percent of the prison population, were being held in the highest-security, maximum-custody units as of Friday, and most were confined alone. Amnesty said the state's own figures show that 35 percent of inmates in maximum security were committed for non-violent crimes. The report said that 14 children ages 14 to 17 had been held in maximum custody under conditions similar to those of adults: 22 to 24 hours a day in their cells, limited exercise alone. Arizona Republic
CO Plans to Close New Prison as Inmate Population Declines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colorado officials will close a $184-million high-security prison open just 18 months and two-thirds empty, reports the Los Angeles Times. The 316-bed prison at Canon City is the fourth Colorado correctional facility ordered closed in the last three years because of a dwindling prison population. At its peak in 2009, the inmate population was 23,220. As of February, it had dropped to 21,562. A decrease of 900 more is expected by June 2013. Adam Gelb of the Public Safety Performance Project at the Pew Center on the States said about half the states wre making efforts to reduce prison populations. Other states and the federal system still show increases. Colorado corrections director Tom Clements said the state was part of a seismic shift in attitudes about the wisdom of locking up nonviolent offenders for long periods. If alternatives are well implemented and include good supervision, repeat offenses can be cut by 30 percent and the cost is about one-tenth of the $30,000-a-year average for housing a prisoner, Gelb said. Los Angeles Times
High Court's Strip-Search Ruling At Odds With 10 States, Federal Position ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yesterday's Supreme Court decision allowing strip searches of jail inmates suspected of minor offenses endorsed a procedure banned in at least 10 states and at odds with the policies of federal authorities, says the New York Times. The American Bar Association says that international human rights treaties also ban the procedures. Federal appeals courts had been split on the question, though most of them prohibited strip-searches unless they were based on a reasonable suspicion that contraband was present. The Supreme Court did not say that strip-searches of every new arrestee were required; it ruled, rather, that the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches did not forbid them. Daron Hall, the president of the American Correctional Association and sheriff of Davidson County, Tn., said the association welcomed the flexibility offered by the decision. The association's standards discourage blanket strip-search policies. New York Times
How the Feds Got 3,168 In Weeklong Roundup of Illegal Immigrants ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A national weeklong roundup of immigrants with criminal histories or prior deportation ended last week with the detention of 3,168 people nationwide, reports the Los Angeles Times. The targets were the types of people that immigration agents say are their highest priority for deportation. The Times describes what the roundup was like, giving the example of agents going after a man who had been convicted of battery in 1986 and 1994, and had been deported, returning illegally. A little past 4 a.m., agents head to his home in a caravan that includes a van and SUVs with tinted windows. They were there without a warrant, and he didn't emerge. Federal officials prefer enforcement programs such as Secure Communities, which automatically compares fingerprints of incoming arrestees with immigration records. That program has come under fire because it has netted many low-level offenders or those with no criminal convictions. Los Angeles Times
How One Texas County's Judges Go Easy on Bail Bondsmen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some bond agents and the criminal defendants they bailed out catch a lucky break from judges in Tarrant County, Tx., says the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram in the second of a series. Say the bail bondsman loses track of a suspect but hears his family saw him at a buddy's place. Instead of declaring the bond forfeited, the judge may declare it "insufficient" to give the bondsman more time to haul the suspect in. Then maybe the judge gets busy and loses track, or the court forgets to flag the case for the judge to reconsider. Months go by, even years. With the bond in limbo, the bond agent might lose interest in tracking the suspect down, and the district attorney can't try to collect. "I don't even see those," said a prosecutor who handles bond forfeitures. Since 2009, judges in Tarrant County have declared about $73 million in felony and misdemeanor bonds insufficient. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Texas Provides Job Training for 5,200 Inmates, Including Computer Repair ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Texas prison system's Wynne Unit, home of one of the state's two computer repair labs, each month inmate workers fix or discard up to 250,000 pounds of malfunctioning equipment, reports the Houston Chronicle. In a state whose prison work programs are best known for agriculture and license plates, the computer shops represent the cutting edge of a factory system that produces everything from street signs to mattresses for state college dorms and soap for scrubbing jailhouse floors. Texas Correctional Industries factories in 37 prisons provide job training for up to 5,200 inmates and help cut costs for cities, counties, schools, and other tax-supported entities. Barbara Belbot, an associate criminal justice professor at the University of Houston Downtown said, "You've got to keep these guys working, right? It's hard to keep these guys busy. You've got to come up with the right mix of work activities." Kevin Von Rosenberg, work and training division manager, said that in the 156,000-inmate system, up to 24 percent of those released from prison return within three years. Among the inmate workers who stay on the job the longest, recidivism drops to 11 percent. Texas Correctional Industries factories in 37 prisons provide job training for up to 5,200 inmates and help cut costs for cities, counties, schools, and other tax-supported entities. Barbara Belbot, an associate criminal justice professor at the University of Houston Downtown said, "You've got to keep these guys working, right? It's hard to keep these guys busy. You've got to come up with the right mix of work activities." Kevin Von Rosenberg, work and training division manager, said that in the 156,000-inmate system, up to 24 percent of those released from prison return within three years. Among the inmate workers who stay on the job the longest, recidivism drops to 11 percent. Houston Chronicle
Baltimore Tries to Improve 27% Juror Appearance Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last year, Baltimore court officials sent a quarter-million summonses to potential jurors, culled from driver's license and voting records, knowing that only a small fraction - about 27 percent - of would show up, the Baltimore Sun reports. The city has tried offering restaurant coupons, parking discounts and a "Juror Appreciation Week" to bring in more people over the years - threatening some of the worst truants with jail time - but the efforts have largely fallen flat. They even asked for volunteers one year, until someone pointed out it was illegal. Now they're putting their hopes into a new software system that's supposed to make being summoned easier and more efficient. It streamlines the process, allows for online postponements and form filing, and automates a lot of the check-in procedure, which should speed things along in the mornings so trials can start on time. "I think there's some laziness, I think there's some cost factors" to the brush-off, said Greg Hurley of the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va. "You're missing a day of whatever it is you're going to be doing." Baltimore Sun