Blog Jan 21, 2011
Using a Medical Care Analogy to Reduce Crime
You never know where you will get some ideas that will help develop public policies concerning crime and delinquency. Yesterday I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR)‘s “Fresh Air ” program and the subject was providing quality health care. The guest was talking about focusing on patients with the highest medical costs, which he called “The Hot Spotters.” He was talking about a unique doctor in Camden, Ohio who began to do some research on health care costs in his city. …
Blog Jan 20, 2011
The Gun Culture
“Police said the gunman was a 22-year-old college dropout who was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and extended clips that allowed him to fire dozens of bullets without reloading.” Arizona Republic, January 11, 2011. I don’t know if there is anything I can add to what has already been written in the news media and stated on newscasts and talk radio almost non-stop since the horrific events on January 8. Here I merely want to comment on guns. There is something fundamentally sick about…
Blog Jan 14, 2011
Governor proposes elimination of DJF
On January 10, 2011 Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed budget for 2011-12 , promoting the elimination of the DJF by June 30, 2014. Elimination of the DJF and realignment of responsibility for all juvenile offenders to the counties is appropriate and fiscally responsible. As highlighted in CJCJ’s In April 2010, Executive Director Daniel Macallair, authored articles in both the LA Times and the California Progress Report reflecting on the poor quality of DJF care that costs $383…
Blog Jan 12, 2011
Brewer, Barbour and Justice
It’s another year, but the same kinds of stories continue. Governors Jan Brewer (Arizona) and Haley Barbour (Mississippi) may be about 2000 miles apart but their conservative philosophies are about the same — and with similar results. Facing a budget crisis that plagues every state in the country, Brewer, like most other governors, has proposed huge cuts in human services, most notably in medical transplant coverage . This issue has received national attention as several residents face…
California avoids GOP wave, read one Washington headline after the November 2010 midterm elections; another accused our state of being “impervious to change.” Not true. There was big change here, with crucial implications for critically needed criminal justice reforms. California’s resistance to the right-wing wave was profound. Democrats captured eight state offices (up from five of eight in 2008) and held its U.S. senate post, usually by double-digit margins. The Democratic Party,…