The death of Lloyd Ohlin in December 2008 was a great loss to the juvenile justice reform world because he was a scholar and a reformer.  A University of Chicago trained sociologists, Professor Ohlin was best known for his seminal work Delinquency and Opportunity, which he co-authored with Richard Cloward another prominent sociologist.   Published in 1960, the book is considered a classic be

A recent column by Steven Levitt in the New York Times on the subject of homicide is unusual (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/the-latest-on-homicide-rates/). In this column he is referencing a recent study by James Fox of Northwestern University.

“As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren,” the Associated Press reported on December 30.

As far as the war on drugs is concerned, as far as 2008 is concerned we simply conclude that “the beat goes on.”  More than $50.8 billion was spent on this never-ending campaign, with the states spending about 60% of the money.  Almost 1.9 million were arrested for drug offense