Juvenile Gangs Using Twitter

While most adults have not fully embraced the phenomenon called Twitter, juvenile gangs have, according to the NY Daily News. Twitter, for the uninitiated, is a social networking service that allows users to send short massages ("tweets") to anyone who signs up to receive them. Juvenile gangs, including the ones documented in the article that are active in upper Manhattan, are using this platform to communicate about rivals and, in some cases, initiate conflicts that lead to later acts of violence.

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Tough Economic Times, But Crime Still Declines in NYC

by Christopher Watler, Task Force Coordinator

An article in the New York Times metro section highlights the curious case of New York City's continued drop in crime, despite depression-sized unemployment and a shrinking police force. As one of my grad school professors would say, " if something is working (or not), do you know why?" The jury is still out on why recorded crime continues to trend down in NYC, and the debate rages on. On one side, you have scholars like George Kelling highlighting the use of data drive approaches by the police. On the other side, you have scholars like Robert Sampson arguing that it is the ability of neighborhoods to work together that makes the difference. As the article suggests, the current economic downturn may be an opportunity to test the connection between crime and the economy.

To be sure, economic hard times and crime declines are felt differently by different neighborhoods and persons in New York City. As the article points out, homelessness is at an all time high, with over 28,000 families living in city shelters, and recent high-profile shootings are clustered in some of the City's most vulnerable neighborhoods. Crime or no crime, many New Yorkers are having a tough time these days. The strain on local and state budgets may further fray social safety net programs and police hiring. Yet, there is no doubt that something is different in New York City when it comes to crime. For better or worse, we are a different city than the New York City of the 1970s and 1980s. The question is, do we know why?

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Reentry is Relational

Just a note about some good work coming out the Family Justice Program, now located at the Vera Institute of Justice: the program is currently coordinating "Reentry is Relational," which helps corrections and other public safety entities harness the power of family and other social connections to help reentrants integrate more successfully into society. As the group notes, "Corrections and community corrections staff who consider returning individuals in the context of their families and social networks better understand both their challenges and the resources available to help them to make the transition successful." Check it out!

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Time to Stand Up Against Gun Violence

The Rev. Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network, wrote a thoughtful opinion piece in the NY Daily News last Sunday entitled "Every Stray Bullet Comes Closer to You and the One You Love."

There is growing concern about juvenile gangs and gun violence in New York City. According to recent data included with the piece:

• There were 149 shooting victims under the age of 16 in NYC in 2008;
• There were 21 murder victims under the age of 16 in NYC in 2008;
• There are overall 403 homicides so far in 2009, compared to 570 in 2004, and 1946 in 1993;
• Approximately 60-65% of homicides in NYC involved a gun;
• Approximately 70,000 people are injured by a gun in America, with over 50,000 injured in an attack; and
  
• A mere 1% of gun dealers are the source of 60% of crime guns traced nationally.

With crime down to historic lows overall in NYC, there is an opportunity now for us to work collectively to make our public spaces and homes gun-violence-free. This would go a long way to protecting our most precious resource, our children.

For more information on this subject see:

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

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Funding Alert: SAMSHA Offender Reentry Program

Under SAMSHA's Offender Reentry Grant program $13 million dollars is available to expand or enhance substance abuse and related reentry services for sentenced juveniles or adults returning to the community. Applications are due January 19, 2010. To learn more click here.

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Citizen Media: Pro-Bono Legal Assistance for Online Journalists

The Berkman Center’s Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) announced today the public launch of its Online Media Legal Network (OMLN), a new pro bono initiative that connects lawyers and law school clinics from across the country with online journalists and digital media creators who need legal help. Lawyers participating in OMLN will provide qualifying online publishers with pro bono and reduced fee legal assistance on a broad range of legal issues, including business formation and governance, copyright licensing and fair use, employment and freelancer agreements, access to government information, pre-publication review of content, and representation in litigation.

“Unlike established media organizations that have the resources to pursue important reporting in the face of legal challenges, many online ventures lack the expertise and financial resources to protect themselves and thrive in an uncertain legal environment,” said David Ardia, director and co-founder of the CMLP. “In order for these new media ventures to survive and flourish, they need a legal safety net, and OMLN aims to provide that safety net with the help of lawyers interested in promoting a vibrant online media environment,” Ardia added. Jay Rosen, a blogger, professor of journalism at New York University, and CMLP advisory board member, concurs: “This network is trying to level the playing field for independent online producers. That's why it matters. That's why I support it.”

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For those of you who write criminal justice-related blogs, consider this resource for legal questions.

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Teenagers With Guns

A sad story has emerged from the Bronx this week, in which a 15-year-old girl from the Morrisania neighborhood, Vada Vasquez, was shot by a 16-year-old boy with no criminal record. The young man, Carvette Gentile, was one amongst a group of young men awaiting to enact revenge on another boy as a result of a fight inside Riker's Island Jail, and has admitted full responsibility.

"According to [Police Commissioner] Kelly, all of the suspects except for the shooter have a long criminal record. 'They were handing off the gun from one to the other, we believe they were attempting to get the weapon to the shooter, Carvette Gentile, because he had no criminal record,' Kelly said." (NY1 News)

This tragic story demonstrates that gang networks continue to facilitate close connections between jail facilities and street life -- and that there need to be other options for 16-year-olds like Carvette, who go from no contact to full contact with the justice system as a result of their participation in gang activities. This boy-child likely had no idea what he was getting into; now, a girl just one year younger than he is in an induced coma as a result of his actions.

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Cervantes Society Honors Judge Fisher

Last night the Cervantes Society, a non-profit fraternal organization for Hispanic employees of the of the New York State Court System, held their annual awards ceremony under the rotunda of the New York State Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street in lower Manhattan. This year’s honorees included the Hon. Fern Fisher, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts, and Joanne D. Quinones, President of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. Two scholarship awards were also made to deserving students. The Luis Gonzalez Youth Award went to Christian Velez of Brooklyn Technical High School, and the Gilberto Ramirez Scholarship Award went to Tiffani Ada Milan who is a sophomore at St. John’s University.

The Hon. Fern Fisher has been a driving force behind the Justice Center’s development. Her vision and leadership to provide access to justice for all is a central value for all courts, especially the Justice Center.

Cervantes Board Member Charles Lopez directs the Clerk’s Office here at the Justice Center.

Congratulations to all the awardees and the Cervantes Board for a great event!

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Fortune Society Turns 42

Last night I attended the Fortune Society’s Annual Award and Benefit Gala at the Laura Pels Theater. For 42 years the Fortune Society has been a leader in supporting the reintegration of incarcerated men and women back into their communities and families. Two awards were made last night. The Corporate Leaders for Change Award went to BET Network for their work in highlighting the impact of incarceration on the lives of men and women of color. The first Lifetime Achievement Award went to David Rothenberg, Founder of The Fortune Society and creator of the critically acclaimed play The Castle.

The highlight of the evening was a performance of The Castle. The Castle stars Vilma Ortiz-Donovan, Kenneth Harrington, Nagel Ramos, and Casimiro Torres as they tell their stories of life before, during and after prison. It was my first time experiencing the performance. It was riveting, filled with sadness, joy and humor, and a profound sense of hope.

The staff and volunteers at Fortune are to be congratulated on making the event a success. It was nice to see old friends and meet new ones. It was also nice to see JoAnne Page and Glenn Martin in the same room for a change!

We are proud to have the Fortune Society as a member of the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force.

Christopher Watler
Task Force Coordinator

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Back on Track in San Francisco

Prosecutors across the country are seeing the value in targeting reentry as a public safety issue -- indeed, the prevention of recidivism through drug treatment, accountability measures, and other support mechanisms means fewer crimes and safer streets. In Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes was a leader on this front with the successful ComAlert Program.

Kamala D. Harris, the elected District Attorney of San Francisco, is one of these enlightened DA's and has an article in the Huffington Post about "Back On Track," a reentry program designed for nonviolent, first-time drug offenders.

There have been some good results for the program:

"For this population, the recidivism (or re-offense rate) is typically 50 percent or higher. Four years since the creation of this initiative, recidivism has been less than 10 percent among Back On Track graduates. And the program costs only $5,000 per person, compared to over $35,000 a year for county jail. That saves our city roughly $1 million per year in jail costs alone. When you add in the total expense of criminal prosecutions to taxpayers, including court costs, public defenders, state prison, and probation, the savings are closer to $2 million. And we cannot even begin to quantify the value of these individuals' future productivity, taxes and child support payments, or the brightened prospects for their families."

For more about Kamala D. Harris, who is the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history and the first African American woman in California to hold the office, click here.

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Juvenile Offenders, Life Without Parole

There's been a lot of back-and-forth recently about two cases currently before the Supreme Court concerning prisoners in Florida who were sentenced to life without possibility of parole for crimes they committed as minors.

Here's an exchange in the NY Times that does a good job of unpacking some of the complexities.

As the chart above shows, 71% of the 109 juvenile offenders serving life without parole for crimes other than homicide are in the state of Florida.

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The Economist: Bringing Drug Dealers Into the Fold

Thanks to our friends at Change.org for pointing to this recent article in The Economist about a unique intervention in High Point, North Carolina.

As you may know, there are been some recent efforts to re-think the way that local jurisdictions deal with low-level, quality-of-life crime. In High Point, the police department decided to work with community leaders to identify the top 16 drug dealers in the crime-challenged West End neighborhood. Once identified, the police built up a solid case of evidence against each of them over the course of some months. After arresting and prosecuting those who engaged in violence, the police "invited the rest in for a chat."

Confronted with evidence of their criminality, these individuals were forced to choose between ceasing their drug dealing or facing prosecution. At the same time, community service providers were on hand to offer jobs, training, or other responses to service needs.

As the article notes, it seems to have worked. The approach is currently being replicated in other jurisdictions under US Department of Justice funding, so hopefully we'll have a fuller body of evidence about this innovative tactic in the next 2-5 years.

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