| Biden Stirs Controversy by Linking Obama Jobs Bill to Crime Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vice President Biden is stepping up his argument that rapes and murders could increase if Congress does not pass President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill, evoking sexual and violent imagery in his sales pitch for the second time in a week, reports FoxNews.com. Speaking to Philadelphia police officers at the University of Pennsylvania, Biden slammed Republican critics who say the jobs bill is just "temporary," underscoring measures aimed at maintaining police force levels. "Let me tell you, it's not temporary when that 9-1-1 call comes in and a woman's being raped. If a cop shows up in time to prevent the rape, it's not temporary to that woman," Biden said. "It's not temporary to the guy whose store is being held up and has a gun being pointed to his head if a cop shows up and he's not killed. That's not temporary to that store owner. Give me a break -- temporary. Last week, Biden suggested during a speech in Flint, Mi., that rapes and murders could rise if the jobs bill failed to pass Congress. The Republican National Committee called Biden's comments "irresponsible and mean-spirited" and calling on the media and women's groups to condemn the remarks. Said the RNC: "No victim of violent crime would ever wish that others were forced to experience the same trauma they went through - especially to make a brazen political point. So why would the sitting vice president of the United States?" The bill would provide $5 billion to help cities retain about 18,000 police officers and 7,000 firefighters. |
| Lohan Jailed; Judge Says Community Service Needn't be "Fulfilling" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Actress Lindsay Lohan was briefly jailed after a judge admonished - and occasionally mocked - her for "blowing off" her court-ordered community service, but there are doubts she will spend additional time behind bars despite numerous probation violations, reports the Los Angeles Times. L.A.'s jails are increasingly being filled with felons because of a controversial new law under which convicts who normally would be housed in state prisons are locked up locally instead. "The jails are going to be filled with felons," said Judge Stephanie Sautner, noting that because of jailhouse crowding that might not be a good option. Sautner sought to revoke Lohan's probation after she was kicked out of a community service program at a downtown women's shelter for repeatedly failing to show up. The actress was taken away in handcuffs after Sautner launched into Lohan for her casual attitude toward her assigned community service. Lohan has completed only 21 hours of the 360 hours she was ordered to serve at the women's shelter. Lohan also was ordered to complete 120 hours of service at the county morgue. Sautner blasted Lohan, taking note that the actress had told probation officials that she did not find work at the shelter to be "fulfilling." "Is that what a sentence is about? To fulfill the defendant?," the judge said. Then she answered her own question: "No." |
| Civil Liberties Group Says Police Often Misuse Stun Guns In NY State ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police officers misused stun guns in nearly 60 percent of incidents across New York State, charges the New York Civil Liberties Union. With the exception of New York City, many police departments did not comply with the recommendations of national law enforcement agencies, WNYC reports. In 35 percent of cases, subjects reportedly were engaged in defensive or passive resistance. The study found that 40 percent of the stun gun incidents involved at-risk subjects, such as children, the elderly, the visibly infirm, and those who were seriously intoxicated or mentally ill. Experts said Tasers should be used only where there is active aggression by a subject or a documented threat of physical harm to another person. "Our analysis shows that police officers are using Tasers in inappropriate, irresponsible and downright deadly manner," the group's Donna Lieberman said. "This disturbing pattern of misuse and abuse endangers lives. Our point in issuing this report is not to single out any particular police department, but rather to highlight problems that are the result of the dramatic, more than 30 fold increase in the number of police departments using Tasers in the last ten years." |
| As Inmate Population Ages, North Carolina Opens New Medical Complex ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ North Carolina is readying a new medical complex at its Central Prison to replace buildings that are too cramped and outdated to treat adequately a growing and aging prison population, says the Raleigh News & Observer. The new $155 million hospital and mental health facility will begin accepting patients next month. Demolition of the old hospital starts Nov. 28. Corrections officials say the expanded medical treatment will cut the cost of treatment in outside hospitals by a third. The expansion comes at a time when community hospitals are pushing the prison system to take care of more of its own patients. The state now spends nearly $11 million a year driving and guarding inmates during hospital visits. There were more than 1,700 inmate admissions to outside hospitals. The savings in outside medical bills will be offset by additional prison personnel costs. The department plans to hire hundreds of medical and custody employees for the new complex. Corrections officials expect the new health complex will pay for itself in 10 years. The proportion of state prison inmates 50 and older has risen in the last 11 years from 6.2 percent in 2000 to nearly 12 percent in 2010. |
| FBI Moving Ahead With Revising Definition of Rape for UCR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As expected, an FBI panel will recommend a new federal definition of rape, moving the agency a step closer to updating the way it counts sex crimes for the first time in more than 80 years, reports the Baltimore Sun. The new definition, discussed this week at a meeting in Baltimore, is likely to expand the number of crimes that would be reported as rapes to the FBI by local police agencies. Many states already track such crimes but don't submit them to the federal Uniform Crime Reporting data collection program as rapes because of its narrower definition. That, experts say, misleads the public about the prevalence of rape and leads to fewer resources to investigate the crimes and catch the attackers. "This is a huge step forward in accurately reflecting the true number of rapes that are occurring in our country," said Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement policy think tank. Since 1927, the definition of rape used by the FBI has been "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will," which excludes incidents of anal or oral penetration, male rape, and incidents where force is not used. Wexler said 80 percent of police chiefs agreed that the definition was outdated and should be updated. Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said better tracking will lead to greater resources. Police and crisis centers cite the federal statistics in applying for grants and other support. |
| Justice Studies Requests to Review NYPD Muslim Surveillance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A former Homeland Security Department civil rights lawyer has asked the federal government to investigate the New York Police Department for its secret surveillance of Muslim communities, reports the Associated Press. Sahar Aziz, a Texas Wesleyan University law professor, said police monitoring of mosques, Islamic bookstores, and Muslim student groups needed to be looked into because the New York police serve as a model for departments nationwide. She said Associated Press reports about the NYPD's intelligence unit have troubled Muslims. "What's on their mind?" she said to an Washington, D.C., audience that included the Justice Department's top civil rights officials. An AP investigation reported on New York police use of plainclothes officers, known as "rakers," who pose as customers and eavesdrop in Muslim cafes and bookstores. Hundreds of mosques and student organizations were investigated and dozens were infiltrated as police built intelligence databases about all aspects of life in Muslim neighborhoods. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said such programs give police a crucial head start in the event of a terrorist plot or attack. He says police don't make those decisions based on ethnicity and only follow leads in launching investigations. The Justice Department said it was reviewing a Sept. 13 letter from Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), asking for an investigation. |
| Washington, D.C., Ends Jailings For Expired License Plates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After public outrage over the practice of arresting drivers with expired license plates, the Washington, D.C., Council acted to keep those people out of jail cells, the Washington Post reports. It adopted emergency legislation that would repeal criminal penalties for driving with an expired tag, instituting fines instead. "Today, we have an opportunity to fix a problem in our law, one that has caused many people to scratch their heads in amazement," said Chairman Kwame Brown, who introduced the legislation on behalf of Mayor Vincent Gray. Washington Post |
| Senior MA Probation Officials Being Suspended in Hiring Scandal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amid rising expectations of federal indictments in the Massachusetts Probation Department hiring scandal, Commissioner Ronald Corbett Jr. has informed more than a dozen senior managers he plans to take disciplinary action against them for their role in a sham hiring process that systematically funneled jobs and promotions to politically connected candidates, the Boston Globe reports. John O'Brien, the department's former commissioner, and three top deputies already have resigned or been fired - and O'Brien faces state criminal charges for allegedly trading campaign contributions from his employees to get a job for his wife at the state lottery. Corbett, O'Brien's successor, has been deliberating for almost a year over how to punish other department employees who participated in what independent counsel Paul F. Ware Jr. called systemic corruption. This week, Corbett sent disciplinary letters to most of the 12 regional supervisors who oversaw the job interview process as well as other human resources employees, telling them they face unpaid suspensions of varying lengths. |
| Leading Data-Driven Policing, Milwaukee's Flynn Gets 2nd Term ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buoyed by a falling crime rate and a well-received emphasis on focused, data-driven policing, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn likely will get his contract renewed tonight by the city's Police and Fire Commission, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It would be the first time in 27 years that a police chief's contract has been renewed. Because city salaries for department managers are frozen, Flynn, 63, would not get a raise but would maintain his $146,000-a-year salary and benefits. He was appointed in 2008, and his term is set to expire Jan. 8. When evaluating the chief's performance, the commission considers several elements, including crime statistics, technology initiatives, handling of citizen complaints and public outreach. Among the trademarks of Flynn's administration: an emphasis on data-driven policing and statistics, and a focus on proactive policing in high-crime areas over reactive patrols. He and District Attorney John Chisholm created community prosecutors. Crime in the city has declined steadily. Flynn has been credited with modernizing the department with technology and creating an intelligence fusion center to coordinate efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement. |
| Education Department to Hear VA Tech Appeal On Fines Over Massacre ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Department of Education has scheduled a December 7-9 hearing on Virginia Tech's appeal of $55,000 in fines for failing to notify campus sooner in a 2007 shooting rampage in which a student killed 32 students and faculty, the Associated Press reports. Virginia Tech officials have denied wrongdoing, saying the department is holding them to higher standards than were in place the day of the shootings. "The relatively small monetary penalty is not the reason for this appeal," Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said. "The university has already expended millions as a result of the tragedy. The main purpose of the appeal is to compel the federal Department of Education to treat Virginia Tech fairly and to apply a very poorly defined and subjectively applied federal law consistently and correctly." The agency found the university violated a federal campus safety law by waiting more than two hours after two students were shot to death before sending out a campus wide warning. By that time, student gunman Seung-Hui Cho was chaining shut the doors to a classroom building where he killed 30 more and then himself. |
| How Ohio Program Tries to Protect Kids from Harsh Sexting Penalties ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids' sexting has been terrifying and befuddling adults since it took off in recent years when unlimited data plans armed a generation with cell-phone cameras, says Redbook. No one knows how many kids do it: One study reported 20 percent of teens, another 4 percent. (In both cases, a larger group admitted to forwarding someone else's photo.) Because the images are, by definition, child pornography, in most jurisdictions sexting by kids - be it sharing a self-portrait or forwarding one - is a felony, an adult crime punishable with jail time and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Yet it's clear that kids are different from the sleazebags on To Catch a Predator. Stakeholders on all sides of the issue - parents, educators, researchers, and prosecutors - are learning that it's tough to punish and deter teen sexting without destroying young lives in the process. How does a family survive a sexting scandal? A unique program in Ohio tries to protect kids from the cruelest penalties of the criminal justice system. It launched in 2009 with a simple goal: to educate, not prosecute, teens who make bad judgment calls. |
| Feds: Allow Judges To Release Historic 30-Year-Old Grand Jury Material ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Justice Department is proposing a change in legal rules that would give judges greater flexibility to release grand jury material of historical significance in cases more than 30 years old, reports the Blog of Legal Times. The request by Attorney General Eric Holder to a committee of the federal judiciary's policy-making body, comes after the government declined to challenge a judge's order directing the government to release Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony. "After a suitably long period, in case of enduring historical importance, the need for continued secrecy is eventually outweighed by the public's legitimate interest in preserving and accessing the documentary legacy of our government," Holder said. He said an amendment to the rule "would accommodate society's legitimate interest in securing eventual public access to grand-jury materials of significant public importance, while at the same time defining the contours of that access." |
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Friday, October 21, 2011
20 October 2011
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