23 April 2012

April 23, 2012   Today's Stories

Are Police Agencies Expanding the Use of Surveillance Drones? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With little public attention, dozens of universities and law enforcement agencies have been given approval by the FAA to use unmanned aircraft known as drones, reports the Wall Street Journal. Documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests by an advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, show that more than 50 institutions received approvals to operate remotely piloted aircraft. They include police agencies in places such as North Little Rock, Ark., and Ogden, Utah, as well the University of North Dakota and Nicholls State University in Louisiana. The documents don't indicate how the aircraft will be used, but federal legislators have asked the FAA to answer questions about the privacy implications of increased drone use. Among the other 23 police agencies and 24 universities on the list are the Houston Police Department; Arlington, Texas, Police Department; Queen Anne's County Sheriff in Maryland; the FBI; Gadsden, Ala., police; Georgia Tech police; Mesa County Sheriff in Colorado; Miami-Dade police; Montgomery County Sheriff in Texas; Polk County Sheriff in Florida, and the Seattle Police Department. Among the smaller agencies listed were Otter Tail County, Minn. (population 57,303), and Herington, Kan. (population 2,526), reports AllGov.com. Wall Street Journal

40 Years After Creation, Title IX Is Often Applied to Campus Sex Assaults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forty years after the creation of Title IX, the federal gender-equity law that made headlines mostly on the sports pages, it is now transforming how colleges must respond to allegations of sexual violence, reports USA Today. The reasoning: Title IX's key language, running barely 30 words, forbids sex-based discrimination that denies access to educational opportunity. It's long established that sexual discrimination and harassment can create an atmosphere that denies women their right to education. What's newer is applying the logic to even a single episode of sexual assault. Typically, colleges enjoy wide leeway in responding to student misconduct, whether that means using a disciplinary board to enforce their own rules or simply punting the matter to law enforcement. But as Title IX is now interpreted - and would be reinforced under a new version of the Violence Against Women Act awaiting a Senate vote - colleges must respond if a sexual assault is reported, even if prosecutors refuse to get involved. Moreover, they face often precise instructions from the government for conducting their investigations and proceedings, and even the standard of proof to use. Victims' advocates welcome what they call an overdue push for colleges to take seriously a problem they've long swept under the rug. USA Today

Social Media, Technology Have Changed Search for Missing Kids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advances in technology have "fundamentally changed how we search for missing kids," Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, tells USA Today. When the center opened in 1984, days could pass before a child's photo was disseminated, Allen said. Now, details about a child or potential abductor can be circulated almost instantaneously through e-mail, text messages, social media and other electronic means. That's vital, because "time is the enemy" when a child vanishes, he says. Investigators need to move quickly to prevent an abducted child from being taken out of town, hurt or even killed. "In 1990, our recovery rate for the cases that we intake here at the center was 62%" - and now it's 97%, he said. "The primary reason for that change is technology." USA Today

Federal Anticrime Programs Hold Their Own in Another Tough Budget Year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite the austere budget climate in Washington, many Department of Justice criminal justice agencies seem to be holding their own as Senate and House committees that fund the department allocate their money for the federal fiscal year starting October 1. The two largest Justice Department components, the FBI and Bureau of Prisons, both would get increases under funding approved by a Senate appropriations subcommittee. The FBI would get $8.2 billion, $114 million above this year's level, for such items as national security and cyberterrorism investigations and violent crime reduction. The prison bureau would get a $269 million increase to $6.8 billion, which would among other things "enable the activation of new prisons that are currently sitting empty due to lack of funds." Crime-fighting grants to states and localities would get $392 million from the Senate, higher than the $370 million in current law. The House committee approved a budget with the $370 million level. The Obama administration sought $100 for programs under the Second Chance Act, which aids prisoner re-entry into society nationwide; the House committee recommended $70 million and the Senate committee $25 million. Based on what happened last year, advocates are hopeful that the final number will be closer to the higher House total. Programs to combat violence against women would get about the current $413 million total from both House and Senate panels. Local police hiring under the COPS program, which got $166 million for the current year, may be about the same next year. The Republican-controlled House panel, which has not favored the Democrat-inspired COPS program, recommended only $40 million, but the Democrat-controlled Senate committee called for $215 million. Crime & Justice News

300,000 Concealed Gun Permits Issued in Ohio Under 8-Year-Old Law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the eight years since Ohio passed a concealed weapons law, county sheriffs have issued 296,588 permits to carry firearms in purses, holsters and vehicles, reports the Dayton Daily News. In Ohio, where the legislature in recent years has eased restrictions on concealed-carry, even over the objections of some law enforcement groups, a battle is being waged over just where to draw the line. Five bills currently pending in the Ohio General Assembly would allow permit holders to carry their weapons in state-owned parking garages, loosen permit renewal requirements, eliminate required gun safety training and background checks and automatically expand the system for recognizing CCW permits issued by other states. Gun advocates had been working with Ohio lawmakers to pass a "Stand Your Ground" law similar to what Florida has, said Jim Irvine, spokesman for the pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association, though he noted that the Trayvon Martin slaying in Florida "put a chill on it." He said the gun lobby in Ohio has been successful for two reasons. "Number one is the facts are on our side," he said. "We were the last state to adopt concealed carry so we were not breaking any new ground here. The other piece is gun owners, particularly concealed carry owners, are politically active." Dayton Daily News

Sioux City Journal Editorial: 'We Are All to Blame' for Gay Teen's Suicide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Sioux City Journal in Iowa attracted national attention Sunday when it published a front-page editorial decrying bullying, after a teenager in the area who had been subjected to harassment committed suicide. The editorial began, "Siouxland lost a young life to a senseless, shameful tragedy last week. By all accounts, Kenneth Weishuhn was a kind-hearted, fun-loving teenage boy, always looking to make others smile. But when the South O'Brien High School 14-year-old told friends he was gay, the harassment and bullying began. It didn't let up until he took his own life." The paper continued, "Sadly, Kenneth's story is far from unique. Boys and girls across Iowa and beyond are targeted every day. In this case sexual orientation appears to have played a role, but we have learned a bully needs no reason to strike. No sense can be made of these actions. Now our community and region must face this stark reality: We are all to blame. We have not done enough. Not nearly enough. This is not a failure of one group of kids, one school, one town, one county or one geographic area. Rather, it exposes a fundamental flaw in our society, one that has deep-seated roots. Until now, it has been too difficult, inconvenient -- maybe even painful -- to address. But we can't keep looking away." Sioux City Journal

New Rodney King Book Looks Back on Infamous Beating by LAPD Cops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twenty years after he was beaten mercilessly by Los Angeles police officers, Rodney King has become synonymous with the abuse of power by law enforcers, says NPR. When four of the officers were charged with use of excessive force, many who'd seen the video assumed they would be convicted. But a year later, a mostly white jury in the far northwest L.A. suburb of Simi Valley acquitted the officers, and mere hours later, the city combusted into the worst riot in modern American history. Five furious days later, 53 were dead, thousands had been injured, and authorities tallied damages of a billion dollars or more. On the third day, while vast parts of Los Angeles were still smoldering, King stood on the steps of city hall and asked, "People, can we all get along?" Today, King has come to grips with the night that fractured him physically and mentally. He's written about how that night affected him in his new memoir, "The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption." NPR

Napolitano Sees a Dearth of Experts to Help Ward Off Cyber Attacks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cyber attacks are the most serious economic and national security threat the United States faces, but the country has a shortage of skilled experts who could head off that threat, reports CNN. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there is job market for cyber warriors who can protect the nation's computer networks from an attack, but many of those jobs are going unfilled, Napolitano said, due to "a lack of expertise." Homeland Security says it responded to more than 106,000 cyber attacks in 2011. Napolitano says without more experts in repelling those incursions, the U.S. economy could be the biggest casualty. A successful attack could mean another country stealing American intellectual property, like technology, research or trade secrets. Industry insiders estimate the economic loss could be in the billions of dollars. CNN

Zimmerman Released on $150,000 Bail, With GPS Monitor Attached ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ George Zimmerman was released early Monday from the Seminole County, Fla., jail after posting $150,000 bail. He is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, 17, near Orlando. He left the jail fitted with an electronic monitoring device that the county sheriff and probation officials will use to keep track of him. He was accompanied by his bondsman, Michael Smith of Magic Bail Bonds, who drove him away. The Orlando Sentinel said Zimmerman probably will leave the state, but officials will be able to monitor his movement no matter where he is living while he awaits trial. Zimmerman had gone into hiding in an unknown location outside of Florida before he was arrested earlier this month. Orlando Sentinel

Two Years After Law Was Passed, AZ Immigration Landscape Has Changed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments Wednesday on Arizona's immigration law, the Arizona Republic notes that much has changed in the two years since Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law the toughest immigration-enforcement statutes in the nation. The state's sizable illegal-immigrant population, one of the driving factors behind passage of the law, has shrunk dramatically. The state hasn't passed a single immigration bill since then, ending the passage of a string of enforcement measures leading up to the law. And the state's large but politically anemic Latino population is showing signs of gaining political muscle. There have been changes at the national level, as well. The year after the law passed, more than 20 other states introduced bills that also gave police the power to question and arrest suspected illegal immigrants encountered during police stops, the cornerstone of Arizona's law. Five bills passed. But since then, the rush to pass Arizona-style immigration laws has fizzled. None of the five states that considered similar laws this year has approved them. The high court's decision is expected this summer and will likely affect similar laws in other states. Arizona Republic

Disappearance of Etan Patz in NYC Ushered in 'New Age of Paranoia' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As authorities searched a cellar in New York City for the remains of a boy missing since 1979, the Associated Press says the case changed child-rearing in America. Before Etan Patz, 6, disappeared, the notion that a child could be abducted right off the street, in broad daylight, was not familiar. Children roamed their hometowns freely, unencumbered by fear. They could walk to school and the bus stop and just about anywhere. That all changed after Patz set off for school and did not return. A new age of paranoia had grabbed hold of the national psyche. And so many years later, that paralyzing sense of fear has yet to fully release its grip. "In many ways, it was the end of an era of innocence," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children. "And parents suddenly became much more protective and much more hovering over their children." Patz was one of the first missing children whose face would appear on a milk carton. In the coming years more faces would follow, mutely appealing for help from a public that began, for the first time, to mobilize on a grand scale in its efforts to find them. Associated Press

Consultant Finds Dangerous Conditions at Cincinnati Crime Lab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A consultant's study concludes that Hamilton County, Ohio, should renovate or expand its crime lab and hired at least 13 additional personnel, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. The consultant, Crime Lab Design of Detroit, says the current overcrowded lab endangers the health and safety of the staff, is not secure, and is at risk of losing accreditation. A renovation would cost about $16.5 million, and expansion would cost from $35 million to $56 million, depending upon the size. Overcrowding at the lab was "jeopardizing the integrity" of evidence, according to the $95,000 study, which the Enquirer obtained under a public records request. In stories last year, the paper revealed serious problems at the lab, which it says were confirmed by the Crime Lab Design report. Cincinnati Enquirer