Check out criminaljustice.change.org

Lots of good articles recently in the Criminal Justice Blog at Change.org. Here's a sample of just a few:

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson makes a case for expanded reentry services.

The problem (or not?) with all-white juries.

Inmate? Ex-con? Felon? Why terminology matters.

Habitat for ... Sex Offenders? Housing difficult populations.

Read More

California's Parole Problems with Sex Offenders

Today's NY Times has a pretty good article about California's troubles managing paroled sex offenders (and parolees in general). As you may know, California's budget crisis has forced it to close a number of prison facilities and now large number of people will be released to parole supervision. Additionally, as the article notes, reentrants will not be sent back to prison for "technical violations" -- or those infractions that include missing your curfew, abusing alcohol or a controlled substance, failing to go to work -- as they have been in the past. Interestingly, this is actually good policy in general. The idea that people's addictions or curfew problems can be addressed with a community-based solution instead of more prison time has been tested by the Harlem Parole Reentry Court over the past ten years and the results have been positive in terms of reducing recidivism. Hopefully, California will be able to create statewide infrastructure that supports this kind of intervention. (Budget cuts are hurting everywhere -- take a look at this article about the elimination of financing for California's Domestic Violence Program. Also, Gov. Schwarzenegger recently enacted an 80 percent cut in Proposition 36, the state’s largest drug treatment diversion program)

Today's article does a really good job of laying out how difficult it is to parole people with sex offenses. There are logistical challenges like finding them a place to live -- nobody wants to live near or with a sex offender -- helping them maintain employment, and keeping an unpredictable surveillance operation going. On top of all this, most paroled sex offenders battle mental illnesses that promote their illegal behavior and many use drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. Although parole officers with this specialized caseload will see the number of people they supervise decrease from 70 to 45, it is an open question as to whether cuts to other key services (like drug treatment) will put these officers in even more of a bind.

Read More

Another Offspring of the Marriage Between Crime Data and the iPhone

"Warning: Stay alert. Do not get hurt."

That's what the iPhone said to me, in a very masculine voice, when I tried out the new application "Are You Safe? Sacramento." I had typed in an address recommended to me -- I don't live in Sacramento, otherwise the phone would have used GPS to identify my current location -- and discovered that, in that immediate vicinity, my "personal defcon" threat level was 2 (or orange, which is high), and that there had been 4 homicides, 27 assaults, 4 robberies, and 19 car thefts in this immediate vicinity in 2008. Additionally, I learned that a car had been stolen "about 0 ft. from here, on 05-22-2008. It occurred at 17:15, according to the record. If you are parking your vehicle you might want to think about finding a garage. You might be able to glean more context by examining the offense description: 10851(A)VC TAKE VEH W/O OWNER."

This, fine readers, is what is available to you if you live in Sacramento, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, or Indianapolis; you own an iPhone; and you are willing to pay $0.99. It is the union of publicly available crime data, GPS mapping, fancy application graphics (behold, the "threat meter"), and the long-standing human obsession with personal safety.

Its uses, according to the application makers, include:

• "Visiting and unfamiliar with the city?"
• "Debating whether to walk or take a cab?"
• "Headed to an area you haven't been to before?"
• "Not sure if you should park your car on the street?"

For outsiders to a neighborhood, it might be a helpful tool (likely, the people who have lived in the neighborhood for a while don't need a "threat meter" to tell them what crimes have been happening in the area recently). And to be fair, there's good reason to have as much data about any place as you can -- I wonder, however, whether there is an element of hysteria in this kind of thing. If this kind of technology takes root broadly, is it yet another way of stigmatizing neighborhoods that indeed have serious public safety concerns? Perhaps this application could be balanced with information about local block associations or dates for the next precinct community council meeting.

What are your thoughts about this kind of technology? Please comment!

Read More

Good News for East Harlem's Representation in City Council

Today, the Urban Justice Center released its yearly report card index for New York City Council members. The members are ranked on indicators including advancing democracy, advancing equality, environmental justice, health, housing, work, and education based on their votes on key legislation, sponsorship on bills pending a vote, and a human rights questionnaire completed by each member.

Good news for East Harlem's own Melissa Mark Viverito, who ranks third among all council members. Although she seems to have received pretty low marks on housing and work issues, she did well on all the others. Be aware that these results are predicated on the legislation that the Urban Justice Center thought was important -- it's not a completely neutral review!

Read More

Last Words

Writer Claire Cameron compiled the last words of inmates on Texas death row (taken from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website) and published them in a NY Times article today. Regardless of your position on the death penalty, these quotations evidence the complexity of thoughts and emotions during a human's last moments. We have copied Ms. Cameron's rather poetic listing in its entirety below.

"Go ahead?

Nothing I can say can change the past.

I done lost my voice.

I would like to say goodbye.

My heart goes is going ba bump ba bump ba bump.

Is the mike on?

I don’t have anything to say. I am just sorry about what I did.

I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you don’t know what to say.

Man, there is a lot of people there.

I have come here today to die, not make speeches.

Where’s Mr. Marino’s mother? Did you get my letter?

I want to ask if it is in your heart to forgive me. You don’t have to.

I wish I could die more than once to tell you how sorry I am.

Could you please tell that lady right there — can I see her? She is not looking at me — I want you to understand something, hold no animosity toward me. I want you to understand. Please forgive me.

I don’t think the world will be a better or safer place without me.

I am sorry.

I want to tell my mom that I love her.

I caused her so much pain and my family and stuff. I hurt for the fact that they are going to be hurting.

I am taking it like a man.

Kick the tires and light the fire. I am going home.

They may execute me but they can’t punish me because they can’t execute an innocent man.

I couldn’t do a life sentence.

I said I was going to tell a joke. Death has set me free. That’s the biggest joke.

To my sweet Claudia, I love you.

Cathy, you know I never meant to hurt you.

I love you, Irene.

Let my son know I love him.

Tell everyone I got full on chicken and pork chops.

I appreciate the hospitality that you guys have shown me and the respect, and the last meal was really good.

The reason it took them so long is because they couldn’t find a vein. You know how I hate needles. ... Tell the guys on Death Row that I’m not wearing a diaper.

Lord, I lift your name on high.

From Allah we came and to Allah we shall return.

For everybody incarcerated, keep your heads up.

Death row is full of isolated hearts and suppressed minds.

Mistakes are made, but with God all things are possible.

I am responsible for them losing their mother, their father and their grandmother. I never meant for them to be taken. I am sorry for what I did.

I can’t take it back.

Lord Jesus forgive of my sins. Please forgive me for the sins that I can remember.

All my life I have been locked up.

Give me my rights. Give me my rights. Give me my rights. Give me my life back.

I am tired.

I deserve this.

A life for a life.

It’s my hour. It’s my hour.

I’m ready, Warden. "

Read More

CrimeReports.com

We learned about a new website, CrimeReports.com, that aggregates crime reports from across the country and allows you to search for them in any locality. The idea is that local law enforcement agencies feed their data (likely also available on their own websites) to this site, allowing for open-source national sharing of crime data.

Although the site is still getting some agencies on board -- New York City, for example, has no crime data, although it is available on the NYPD website -- it seems like a great way to build knowledge, bring criminal justice agencies on board with Web 2.0 technologies, and create open-source sharing about crime patterns in places across the U.S.

If you click on the "Analytics" tab at the upper right, you'll be able to see exactly which localities provide data and even generate charts for various crime entities. The displays are dynamic so that you can break down "theft," for example, into more precise categories of crime. This is definitely a win for community-based organizations in need of crime data for grant-writing purposes as well.

Read More

A Tough Sell Indeed

We saw this interesting article about the Minnesota Prisoner Re-Entry Project’s effort to help formerly incarcerated persons find work. Beyond the challenges of doing this work, we thought it was interesting that the Project deployed a Vista volunteer to do this work. To read the article click here.

National Service Volunteers are increasingly an important resource in the reentry work being done across the country. Here at the Justice Center we have the good fortune of having a former parolee and graduate of our Harlem Reentry Court program who is now an AmeriCorps member working to assist current parolees in the program. It is a win-win for everyone involved.

Read More

New NYC Corrections Commissioner Appointed

Dr. Doar Schriro takes over the reins from Martin Horn. Commissioner Horn worked to create the Rikers Island Discharge Collaborative, among his many innovations. Dr. Schriro has a long resume leading prison & jail systems. Thanks to our friends at the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy for bringing this to our attention.

See the NY Times article about the appointment here.

Read More

Welcome, New Task Force Members

As always, the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force is growing and developing. This fall, we are happy to welcome aboard some new members:

Veritas Therapeutic Community is a not-for-profit, family-focused, substance abuse treatment and prevention agency in New York. Veritas operates three residential programs with a total of 231 beds (including 30 children).

John Jay College Prisoner Reentry Institute aims to spur innovation and improve practice in the field of reentry by advancing knowledge; translating research into effective policy and service delivery; and fostering effective partnerships between criminal justice and non-criminal justice discipline.

Professor Sudhir Venkatesh is the William B. Ransford Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is a researcher and writer on urban neighborhoods in the United States (New York, Chicago) and Paris, France. His most recent book is Gang Leader for a Day (Penguin Press) and he has ongoing research projects on immigration and settlement in the suburbs of Paris, re-entry among the formerly incarcerated in New York, and sex work in New York and Chicago.

We are excited to have these fresh voices and look forward to integrating their contributions into the ongoing work of the Task Force.

Read More

Marion County Oregon Recieves Second Chance Act Grant

The Marion County Re-Entry Initiative has been awarded a grant under the Second Chance Act by the U.S Department of Justice. These eagerly awaited reentry grants are just begining to be announced. Read the article here.

Read More

Rethinking Reentry on Change.org

The kind folks at Change.org have asked us to guest-blog about criminal justice and Web 2.0. Check out the post here.

Read More

Literally Leaning Into Conflict

Today's NY Times has a compelling article about the Reverend Vernon Williams, a pastor who sees it as his mission to interrupt violent conflict in Harlem. Possessing himself a criminal record for drug addiction and guns possession, Rev. Williams has turned his life toward helping younger generations in Harlem.

In addition to presenting this very human story of tragedy and rehabilitation, the article speaks to an issue that the Harlem Community Justice Center has been working on for some time: gangs.

At least seven major gangs operate in an area bordered roughly by West 125th Street, West 155th Street, Fifth Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue and Harlem River Drive, according to residents and community leaders. They include G.M.B., short for Get Money Boyz; F.S.U., which uses two profanities in its name; O.T.N., short for 129; and G.F., meaning GoodFellas.

While these may be the major gangs, there are a number of smaller, more localized "crews" that function very similarly, often in public housing projects. They are loose conglomerates of young men and women, and their more dispersed structure than traditional "gangs" has made it a much more difficult public safety program to address. For some time, the Justice Center has seen a need for some kind of coordinating body addressing these gang issues among police, community members, schools, and faith leaders -- much like the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force has done around the issue of adult prison reentry. This article highlights how successful the efforts of even one committed man can be -- perhaps a collaboration of stakeholders could take a page from his book.

Read More

Proving a Point

Here's an interesting story from the Criminal Justice blog at Change.org on one of Philadelphia's candidates for District Attorney. Michael Untermeyer, who most recently was in private practice in the city, has donned an electronic monitoring device to make a point about mass incarceration.

You can track his movements (including the time of his most recent cell phone call) here.

His argument is that non-violent offenders could be more cheaply supervised using such tracking devices, instead of being incarcerated. Change.org does a good job of evaluating this tactic and adding some other perspectives.

Read More

Because We Just Had To

Puppies Behind Bars. Check it out.

Oprah and Glenn Close love it too. Watch the video.

Read More

Harry Belafonte Delivers Keynote Address to Graduates of Harlem Reentry Program

Yesterday the Harlem Parole Reentry Court held a graduation event to celebrate those parolees who have completed the six-month program. The Harlem Parole Reentry Court opened in 2001 with the goal of enhancing public safety and reducing recidivism among parolees returning to East and Central Harlem. The Reentry Court, a project of Center for Court Innovation in collaboration with the New York State Division of Parole, works with parolees during the first six months of their release to promote law-abiding behavior. The Reentry Court provides on-going judicial monitoring before an Administrative Law Judge, case management, linkages to critical services, and the use of graduated sanctions and rewards to respond to setbacks and achievements.

Last night was a very special graduation. To a packed room our keynote speaker the legendary Harry Belafonte, who was joined by his wife Julie, delivered a passionate and positive message of perseverance in the face of struggle. "I was born in Harlem and still live in Harlem", he said, as he described the many opportunities that came to him. He talked about his own personal story of returning from service at the end of WWII and honing his acting craft through the American Negro Theater in Harlem were he developed life long friendships with great actors like Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Sydney Poitier. He highlighted the many ways that the community “wrapped itself around him” in the form of the many mentors and friends he was privileged to know including Dr. King and Ma lcolm X.

He spoke about the plight of a five year–old African-American girl in Florida in March of 2007 who was handcuffed and arrested at school because she was “acting out.” After many years of fighting for human rights in America, he saw the plight of the Florida girl as a call to fight anew against the continued injustice of the American criminal justice system. Since 2007 he has led the development of The Gathering for Justice and committed himself to organizing around the problems faced by men and women who are in prison and gang involved.

The graduates, their families and guests left inspired!

To hear a podcast of the event click here

Read More

Race, Criminal Records & Employment Conference

The Cornell University Industrial & Labor Relations School's Employment Law Program is convening The Richard Netter Conference on Race Criminal Records and Employment on October 9, 2009. This event brings together lawyers, social scientist and others to discuss the law and latest research on recidivism. One of our new Task Force members Judy Whiting Senior Staff Attorney at the Legal Action Center will be speaking at this conference. For more information and to register click here.

Read More

"Outbreaks Near Me"

You may have noticed that we're a little obsessed with technology, and especially the iPhone, at Rethinking Reentry.

It was hard to pass, therefore, on this story about a new iPhone application, called "Outbreaks Near Me." With all the hysteria about H1N1 (Swine Flu), this app provides users with a way of tracking outbreaks of the disease near them. Users can even upload "outbreak reports" with pictures and descriptions.

Creators at Children's Hospital Boston and the MIT Media Lab admit that the current version isn't able to weed out fake reports from real ones, but say that the tool has real potential if it is adopted among a wide swath of the population.

The thing we're pondering, of course, is whether this kind of application could have other uses, particularly in problem-solving justice. Putting aside the issue of access to technology for the moment (we are well aware that most reentrants don't have the means to acquire and maintain an expensive iPhone), of what use could this technology be in criminal justice circles?

• What if employers could post jobs to the application (a "jobs outbreak!") and reentrants could find open positions and (more importantly) find employers friendly to people with criminal records?
• What if parole officers could post their own reviews of local service providers for their colleagues to see? Or share information about a recent spate of relapses in a certain neighborhood for other law enforcement officials to be aware of?
• What if service providers could get real time information about reentrants who are new to the neighborhood (hmmm, we'd have to make sure this is legal ...) so that they could better target them for services and support?
• What if reentrants could post reviews of stores, service providers, faith institutions, or other community stakeholders who helped them out (a "good will outbreak!") and would be willing to help others returning to the community?

Any of these ideas would make the process of return certainly more efficient, and with the possibility of pictures and video, perhaps enriching for the technology consumer.

As always, if you have any ideas, we'd love to hear about them! How might this technology be useful in your criminal justice pursuits?

Read More