Blog Sep 4, 2010
Racial Bias and Certification
A story from the Chicago Reporter is merely the most recent of a long line of studies going back 30 years documenting the racial bias of the certification process. Certifying juveniles as adults was part of an overall conservative “law and order” crackdown on juvenile crime starting during the Reagan administration in the 1980s. Research began almost immediately during that time documenting the disproportionate number of African-American youth who were certified. As the studies poured…
Blog Sep 3, 2010
Brewer, Arpaio and CCA
Over the summer reports started to emerge that revealed that two key advisors for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer had close ties to Corrections Corporation of America . Specifically local CBS affiliate KPOH reported that “two of Brewer’s top advisers have connections” to private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Lawrence Lewis, writing for the Daily Kos , reported that “Paul Senseman, Brewer’s deputy chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for CCA. His wife…
The current economic crisis has already had an impact on the crime problem. Cases of reported runaway youth have been rising, stemming directly from the current crisis. Many states have been releasing prisoners by the hundreds, if not thousands, in order to save money. For the first time since 1972 we saw a reduction in the overall prison population in 2009 . A survey of 233 police departments by the Police Executive Research Forum in early 2009 found that 43 percent of the…
Blog Aug 19, 2010
Abusing Kids at Home
It has often been said that schools are the safest place for kids and that the most dangerous place for kids is inside their own homes. The most recent data on child victims underscores this. In fiscal year 2007 (the latest year available) there were an estimated 3.2 million referrals to Child Protective Services agencies alleging child abuse and neglect, involving about 5.8 million children (more than double the number — 2 million — in 1986). About one-fourth of these cases were…
Blog Aug 16, 2010
DJF Mental Health Experts Resign
On August 2, 2010, the court in the Farrell litigation concluded that Dr. Eric Trupin and Dr. Terry Lee have resigned from their positions as Mental Health experts in the case. This is compelling news for followers of DJF reform efforts. Almost seven years ago, Dr. Eric Trupin conducted the original investigation of DJF’s mental health care, noting “In general we have grave concerns relative to the competence of the psychiatric staff, historical lack of leadership… and the lack of any…