From 2003 through the present, 4,200 Americans died and over 30,000 have been wounded in the war in Iraq. This toll has generated justifiable outrage among those who consider invading Iraq a colossal mistake. Indeed, President-elect Barack Obama, has pledged to end the war soon after taking office. Meanwhile, right here at home from 2003 through 2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports indicate that around 200,000 Americans died from overdoses of illegal drugs; SAMHSA surveys…
I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of reading about the “bailout.” A day does not go by without being reminded how much those already loaded with cash and goodies receive yet another Christmas present from we the taxpayers. I guess the proverbial “last straw” for me was the report by the Associated Press that asked 21 banks that had received at least $1 billion from the government four simple questions: “How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in…
Blog Dec 22, 2008
We can’t just shoot ‘em
California’s growing budget crisis and prison lawsuits are focusing more attention on a serious policy question: Are there better ways to reduce crime and treat criminals than by spending $36,000 in taxpayer dollars every year to lock up each low-level property and drug possession offender in state prison? California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports show the state now imprisons 30,000 offenders sentenced for non-invasion property crimes or simple drug possession, at a cost…
Dec 18, 2008
Just Released! Fall 2008 Justice Policy Journal
Just Released! Fall 2008 Justice Policy Journal: CJCJ’s Premiere Online Academic Journal As one of the first online criminal justice journals with contributions from renowned scholars, the Justice Policy Journal (JPJ) is quickly becoming among the most widely read and discussed journals in the field. The JPJ provides an international forum for researchers and policymakers to examine current justice issues and promote innovative policy solutions in a web based format that maintains the…
Recent reports by the W. Haywood Burns Institute and NAACP deploring disproportionate minority confinement in juvenile facilities raise an important ongoing issue. It is true, as the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice’s own investigations agree, that black and brown youth receive increasingly harsh treatment as they move from arrest through sentencing stages that the juvenile justice system must address. But there’s another troubling issue. A key CJCJ mission has been to reduce the use of…