19 Oct 2011

Justice Workers Making Labor Concessions in Inmate Shift ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As California's massive prison and parole department begins a historic downsizing to cut costs and comply with court orders, it's getting a hand from organized labor, reports the Sacramento Bee. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association and five other unions have signed contract amendments for Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees that set aside some job protections, drastically cut employees' state-paid moving allowances, and aim to reduce prison officer overtime costs. The state estimates the deals will save about $13 million in this fiscal year, compared with the traditional layoff process. In exchange, unions hope fewer workers will lose their jobs as the department shifts some of its responsibilities to local government. That process started Oct. 1, aiming to cut the state's prison and parole costs over several years. Although the state and the unions say the agreements are a plus for both sides, some employees are unhappy that they may have to uproot. Some union members are upset at the prospect of moving to remote facilities around the state. Potentially thousands of jobs are in play. "The unions had no choice but to play ball," said Joshua Page, a University of Minnesota sociology professor who has studied the history of California's penal system. "It came down to keeping benefits and protections or keeping jobs." Sacramento Bee

Report: Secure Communities Arrests Hundreds of U.S. Citizens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Secure Communities program has led disproportionately to the removal of Latino immigrants and to arrests by immigration authorities of hundreds of U.S. citizens, says a study by two law schools reported by the New York Times. About one third of deportees had spouses or children who were American Citizens. The report is the first analysis of deportations under the Secure Communities program based on data about individual cases, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the University of California, Berkeley, law school and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. Secure Communities has drawn intense criticism from immigrant communities and from some state and local officials, who have said it led to deportations of many immigrants who were not dangerous offenders and eroded trust between the communities and local police. The Obama administration defends the program. "We came into office focused on creating a smart enforcement system by setting a rational system of priorities, and we have done that," said John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We said criminal offenders would be our highest priority, and lo and behold, they are the highest priority." New York Times

Occupy Cincinnati Goes to Court Over Tickets for Camping in Park ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A federal judge told police to stop issuing tickets to Occupy Cincinnati demonstrators camping out in a Cincinnati park, while the protesters' lawyers and city leaders try to hammer out an agreement on issues in the protesters' federal lawsuit against the city, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Last night, the group met for two hours in a library as a thunderstorm rolled through. The group turned down a "settlement offer" from the city and agreed to submit a counter-proposal, said their attorney, Geoffrey Miller. The planned to march to City Hall today to voice concerns over some City Council members' apparent opposition to the continued occupation of Piatt Park. On Monday, the group sought a court order blocking the city from enforcing rules that ban people from the park after it closes at 10 p.m. U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott issued an order calling for a "standstill" on enforcing that rule in the park. The 28-hour stay expires at 8 p.m. tonight. Citations may then resume unless an out-of-court settlement is reached. Protesters say the park rules violate their free speech rights, but the city's lawyers say the rules are constitutional and that police should have the ability to regulate after-hours activities in the park, either through citations or, possibly, arrests. Since Oct. 9, city police have issued 239 citations to 91 people for violating park rules, racking up roughly $25,000 in fines. The protesters are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has inspired encampments in public places throughout the country Cincinnati Enquirer

Advocates Hope for Violence Against Women Act Renewal Next Year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advocates for the federal Violence Against Women Act are hoping Congress will expand the law's coverage but do not have much hope for additional funding. Backers hope that a reauthorized law can be passed by Congress and signed by President Obama early next year, although that might be optimistic given the slow pace of legislation in Washington these days. A coalition of groups interested in the law have proposed five additions to coverage, including legal assistance and advocacy, training of court personnel, outreach to as many as 16 "underserved populations," military interventions, and tribal programs. The underserved populations include women unlikely to call 911 or go to court as their first response to violence. A five-year reauthorization proposal is expected to be introduced soon by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The law has received more than $400 million annually in recent years. Advocates told a meeting of criminal-justice organization representatives in the capital this week that it would be unrealistic to expect an increase in an era of 20% cuts in federal anticrime grants to states and localities. Asked whether expanding the reach of the law might dilute funding available for current grantees, Paulette Sullivan Moore of the National Network to End Domestic Violence said that might happen, but the coalition had agreed on "the need for all people to be safe." Also speaking at the session was Rob Valente of the Domestic Violence Research Network.

Milwaukee Police Response Time Grows 10 Percent In 3 Years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Milwaukee Police Department's overall response time was 3.5 minutes longer on average during the three full years since Chief Edward Flynn's arrival in 2008 compared with the three years prior, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That's more than 10 percent longer. Police took more than 45 minutes to get to a fatal stabbing in July, even though it was considered a top priority call and the caller admitted that she stabbed her boyfriend. In another case, police took more than two hours to arrive at the scene of a fatal car crash in June. Instead of focusing on rapid response, the Police Department assigns more squad cars to proactive policing efforts in high-crime areas. Flynn said his strategy has helped reduce the city's crime rate but has acknowledged it can result in a slower response. More than a dozen city residents interviewed by the newspaper expressed frustration. As a default neighborhood block watch captain, police encourage one man to call in when he observes crime in the area. He's typically the only neighbor who calls on incidents like shooting, drug dealing, prostitution, and loud parties. Most other residents fear retribution from criminals if they report crime. In one case when the man heard a dozen shots fired, he called 911 and listened to a voice recording that said he would be on hold for 15 minutes to one hour. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Tennesee, Seeing Meth Seizure Rise, Goes to the Classroom With Videos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tennessee's renewed assault on methamphetamine abuse is moving to the classroom, The Tennessean reports. Gov. Bill Haslam will kick off a campaign called "Meth Destroys" featuring the first educational video created for middle and high school students since the state's initial meth campaigns in 2005. Meth lab seizures last year reached their highest since 2004, nearly doubling the prior year. In response, the state enacted a battery of new laws aimed at making it harder to obtain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in meth, and stiffening penalties for helping make the drug. The state hasn't done a major educational campaign aimed at students in years, said Tommy Farmer, director of the Tennessee Meth Task Force. "We've learned that we have to educate the youth at a pretty young age," he said. "They're definitely at an age where they understand, we believe. They know and they need to know the difference between right and wrong." Many law enforcement efforts involve tamping down on "smurfing," the practice where meth makers try and avoid limits on pseudoephedrine purchases by enlisting multiple people to buy quantities of the ingredient. Meth makers will often enlist college students to buy pseudoephedrine in return for extra cash. While the act may seem benign to the students, Farmer said that they need to learn there are consequences at a young age. The Tennessean

How Crime Mapping in San Diego Just Got Easier and Sleeker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mapping crime in San Diego neighborhoods just got easier and sleeker, says the Voice of San Diego. Law enforcement agencies across the region have begun posting crime information to a new online interactive tool. The website, CrimeMapping.com, is free to the public and a major improvement from the region's previous crime mapping system. The site works like online mapping websites like Mapquest and Google Maps. Plug in an address, city, or law enforcement agency, and the map will zoom to your results. You can then zoom in or out and easily scan for crimes in the surrounding area. Pinpointing crime problems in neighborhoods and putting them in a broader context - such as the impact of nearby businesses, parks or roads - now takes just a few minutes. Readers ask about crimes occurring near businesses or proposed shops so they can use those crime figures at planning hearings. With more data, the new tool becomes a more visually powerful asset in these debates. If you click the link icon in the upper right corner of the map (it looks like a paperclip), the tool will create a unique website URL for your map. Then you can email, tweet or post that link online. CrimeMapping.com also allows you to sign up for crime alerts. You plug in an address, choose a radius of up to two miles away and select which types of crimes you want to be notified of. Then, when police report new crimes, the website sends you an email. The new system limits results to a maximum 800 crimes. That becomes more of a problem as you zoom out or try to analyze more common crimes, such as drug or alcohol violations, over a lengthy period of time. Voice of San Diego

Esserman Vows to Bring Community Policing to New Haven ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dean Esserman, former Providence police chief now heading the New Haven, Ct., police department, is vowing that dedicated walking beats will return to every neighborhood, that officers will know residents, and that residents, over time, will celebrate police and work as partners, says the New Haven Register. Esserman he pledged to return the Police Department to the model of community policing. "Mayor, thank you for bringing me home. It feels good," Esserman said as Mayor John DeStefano Jr. announced him as the next chief. He will start Nov. 16, replacing Frank Limon, who is resigning. Esserman, 54, a former prosecutor, was assistant chief in New Haven from 1991 to 1993. Since then, he's worked as the chief of the Metropolitan Transit Authority police in New York, in Stamford, Ct., and in Providence, R.I., for eight years before resigning in June. DeStefano's opponent in the upcoming election, Jeffrey Kerekes, criticized the way Limon's departure was handled. Bill Bratton, former police commissioner in Boston and New York City and chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said even if New Haven had done a national search, "you won't find a better candidate than Dean Esserman." New Haven Register

Civil Liberties Group Sues to Get Daily Schedules of NYPD's Kelly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit seeking public release of the daily schedules of police commissioner Raymond Kelly, the New York Times reports. The suit called Kelly "the most important appointed official" in city government, and said details of his meetings remain largely shrouded in secrecy. "There is no good reason for Commissioner Kelly to withhold this information from the public," said Donna Lieberman, director of the civil liberties group. "If it's safe for the leader of the country to disclose his schedule, then it's safe for the [police] commissioner to do the same." The lawsuit, which seeks details of Kelly's appointments dating to 2002, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped him for a second stint as police commissioner, was filed on behalf of Leonard Levitt, a former Newsday reporter who now writes a blog about law enforcement matters on his Web site, NYPD Confidential. The police department has asserted that disclosing Kelly's schedule over the past decade would endanger both the commissioner and the people with whom he met, said the civil liberties group. New York Times

"Billions Behind Bars"--U.S. Prison Business Investigated by CNBC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CNBC broadcast a special "Billions Behind Bars," which the network billed as an investigation into the multibillion dollar prison business in the United States. There will be a rebroadcast starting at 8 p.m. Friday EDT. As described by the network, "We go inside private prisons and examine an Idaho facility nicknamed the "gladiator school" by inmates and former prison employees for its level of violence. We look at one of the fastest growing sectors of the industry, immigration detention, and tell the story of what happens when a hard hit town in Montana accepts an enticing sales pitch from private prison developers. In Colorado, we profile a little-known but profitable workforce behind bars, and discover that products created by prison labor have seeped into our everyday lives - even some of the food we eat. We also meet a tough-talking judge in the law-and-order state of Texas who's actually trying to keep felons out of prison and save taxpayer money, through an innovative and apparently successful program." CNBC says that the prison system in the U.S. employs more than three-quarters of a million workers, more than the auto manufacturing industry. Many small towns are said to be trying to get in on the boom. The special includes a "reform" segment profiling Texas's Community Corrections Continuum of Care Court, which the program says saves money by keeping people out of jail. CNBC

Canadian Tough-on-Crime Drift Gets Flak From Texas Reformers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Conservatives from Texas are criticizing the crime-fighting strategy of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reports CBC. "You will spend billions and billions and billions on locking people up," says Judge John Creuzot of the Dallas County Court. "And there will come a point in time where the public says, 'Enough!' And you'll wind up letting them out." Rep. Jerry Madden, a conservative Republican who heads the Texas House Committee on Corrections, says, "It's a very expensive thing to build new prisons and, if you build 'em, I guarantee you they will come. They'll be filled, OK? Because people will send them there. But, if you don't build 'em, they will come up with very creative things to do that keep the community safe and yet still do the incarceration necessary." Federal spending on corrections in Canada has gone up from $1.6 billion in 2005-06, when Harper's Conservatives took power, to $2.98 billion in 2010-11. That's an increase of 86 per cent. Soon, it will double. The Harper government has increased prison sentences by scrapping the two-for-one credit for time served waiting for trial. The pending Bill C-10 would add new and longer sentences for drug offences, increase mandatory minimums, and cut the use of conditional sentences such as house arrest. In each case, Texas is doing the opposite. CBC

Would Shaming Be Better White-Collar Deterrent Than Long Terms? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sentencing scholar Douglas Berman of Ohio State University Law School questions whether sentences like the relatively harsh 11-year prison term imposed on insider trading defendant Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Group will deter other white-collar criminals. Writing for Time.com, Berman says there is "little reason to believe that the 'message' delivered by Rajaratnam's sentence would be any different if his prison term was a couple of years or a couple of decades. Analysis of dozens of deterrence studies by Valerie Wright of the Sentencing Project says "marginal" increases in punishment severity - adding years on to a prison term - does not consistently result in greater deterrence. Research shows that the certainty of punishment, rather than its severity, as well as how particular punishments are perceived, that most greatly impacts whether criminal sanctions deliver a potent "message" to would-be lawbreakers. Berman wonders whether "shaming" penalties would be better deterrents. He offers examples like, "What if, after perhaps a couple of years in prison, Rajaratnam was required every business day to ring the opening bell at the stock exchange while wearing his prison jumpsuit? What if Martha Stewart's magazines and televisions shows had to include an image of Stewart eating in the federal prison's cafeteria along with other convicted felons when she was imprisoned? What if all people convicted of a white-collar offense were required for decades to post a large sign on their lawns that highlighted to all that the resident inside did not always play by the rules?" Time.com