Blog Apr 27, 2012
Fight the good fight: stand up against child abuse
Internationally, I believe many individuals would agree that child abuse is an unacceptable behavior in various cultures and communities all over the world, though I recognize there are different viewpoints on what may be considered child abuse. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and “a time to recognize that we each can play a part in promoting the social and emotional well-being of children and families in communities.” I find it difficult to believe any rational person would…
Yesterday, the California Senate Public Safety Committee voted 5 – 2 to pass Senate Bill 1180 (Hancock) for a floor vote. This bill is a significant piece of legislation that will have a significant impact on the high rates of un-sentenced individuals held in county jails. If the bill continues to proceed in the legislative arc and is signed by the Governor, California counties would have enhanced incentives to utilize best practice risk-assessment tools for determining whether an accused…
Data from the Corrections Standards Authority shows that 71% of jail space in California counties is filled by individuals who are unsentenced. For the simple reason of not being able to afford a bail amount that varies widely from county to county for the same sentence, these individuals are separated from their communities, families, receive no rehabilitative programming, taking up jail beds that should be used for offenders determined to be a risk to their community, all at the costs of…
I recently wrote a blog called School Discipline and the Prison Pipeline which was a follow-up to a more detailed commentary on my web site . Recently there was a survey called “California Statewide Survey on School Discipline Issues” (conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates) which was based upon a telephone survey of a random sample of 803 California voters. About 80% of those polled supported reforms in the ways in which school discipline was practiced. For example,…
The Human Rights Commission hearing on the Human Rights Impact of the War on Drugs last week provided a broad spectrum of perspectives and information on how San Franciscans are affected by drug law enforcement. The hearing commenced with testimony from Alice Huffman, President of the California NAACP, who underlined the racially targeted history of the drug war, beginning in 1914 and including the 1920’s failed prohibition of alcohol. Following, Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director of Legal…